Anatomy of a Classic: The Akris Ai Bag

More than a decade ago the fashion designer Albert Kriemler traveled to Jinhua, China, about three hours from Shanghai, to explore the abandoned Architecture Park organized and curated by the dissident artist Ai Weiwei. Among the 17 completed pavilions along the Yiwu River, including works by Herzog & de Meuron and Fernando Romero, Kriemler was struck by a remarkable geometric building conceived by the Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao. The structure reminded him of the A in Akris, the venerable luxury brand his grandmother Alice Kriemler-Schoch founded, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, a little over a century ago. Suddenly Kriemler had an epiphany. Here was the shape he was after for the label’s first handbag.

He looked to Japan for more inspiration, specifically to the ancient art of origami. At first glance the purse appears to be a rectangular tote, but with its side flaps fully clasped it takes on a trapezoidal shape, just like Bilbao’s monument. Thus the Ai (pronounced “eye”) was born.

Fittingly for an accessory named after an elite Japanese racehorse, the first model was finished in horsehair. Now Kriemler has reinvented this signature item in raffia, which might suggest warm summer adventures, but it might be worthwhile to wait until after the rainy season to bring it along on a special maiden voyage. That’s the best time to visit the Jinhua park, where an architectural wonder crumbles before your eyes

This story appears in the Summer 2023 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW

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