In the fickle world of fashion, creative directors of major houses are not exactly known for their longevity. Albert Kriemler’s 43-year run at Akris, which had been trafficking in quiet luxury for decades before anyone ever mentioned the term, is especially remarkable. Based in St. Gallen, a tranquil university town near Lake Constance, Akris celebrates its centennial this year with an exhibition (open now through September 24) at Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, Ausstellungsstrasse. Curated by Kriemler and Karin Gimmi, it explores how the house has integrated textile design, photogaphy, architecture, and art into its collections. On the occasion, Kriemler shares his key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
Airline: Swiss.
Airport: Zurich Airport.
Art Fair: Art Basel 2023.
Bag: Akris’s Alexa, an all-leather tote.
BalletS: Beethoven-Projekt, by John Neumeier, at the Staatsoper Hamburg, for which I designed the costumes, and Wayne McGregor’s new ballet at the Royal Opera House, in London, which will include set designs by my friend Carmen Herrera.
Bedtime: 10 p.m.
Bike: Thömus.
Birthday: Aquarius.
Breakfast, weekday: Muesli, fresh fruits, and tea.
Breakfast, weekend: Running with Emma, muesli, and coffee.
Car: Saab.
Child: My nieces, nephews, and godchildren. My loved ones.
Cocktail: Feingespritzter, a mix of soda, champagne, strawberries, and mint. It’s best with Sancerre.
Dinner, weekday: Often just soup.
Dinner, weekend: At my brother’s or my sister’s house with their youngsters.
Dress: A sleek little double-face sheath in black.
Drive: I prefer Swiss trains.
Enemy: Voltaire put it best: “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
Escape: The Engadine region, in the Swiss Alps, in both winter and summer.
Find: A watercolor of a bird that I found in a little furniture shop in St. Gallen in my early 20s. I had no clue what it was until I visited Le Corbusier’s chapel in Ronchamp and saw the same bird in one of the windows.
First Lady: Michelle Obama, who has been wearing my clothes since she published Becoming.
Fit: Tailored but relaxed.
Friends: Are the real value of my life!
Good-bye: Never. It is always a next “Hello.”
Hideaway: Home or outdoors.
Hotel: Hotel Wedina an der Alster, in Hamburg, and the Carlyle, my home when I am in New York for over 25 years.
House:
The Villa Müller, in Prague, from Adolf Loos. One of the great works of modern architecture. I learned a lot from Loos in general, especially for my fabrics.
Indulgence: Sprüngli.
Jacket: Vintage Dior by Hedi Slimane. For special occasions, timeless vintage Kiton jackets in exquisite fabrics. If suits, only oversized—for the moment.
Movies: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about Nan Goldin, by Laura Poitras. Impressive!
Nonfiction book: For this summer: La Mia Commedia dell’Arte and Magnificent Obsessions Saved My Life, about my friends Jacqueline Burckhardt and Matthias “This” Brunner.
Pants: Navy or black, by Neil Barrett.
Pet: My dog, Emma.
Poem: “How blue? how sad? how small? how white? how far? how blue! how sad! how small! how white! how far!,” by my dear friend Ian Hamilton Finlay. It’s interesting what a question mark introducing an element of doubt can bring to two words in comparison to what the exclamation mark can evoke. I always ponder the back and forth of it.
Restaurant: Kronenhalle, in Zurich.
SHOES: Remakes of vintage simple Tod’s loafers. All-black Ons. And one pair of handmade Scheers.
Time of day: Early bird. I love the morning quiet.
View: Over the Alpsteingebirge, through a lawn with blooming wildflowers.
Watch: A vintage IWC Tank. It belonged to my great-grandfather and was passed on to my uncle, who was an architect and taught me a lot about great design.
WRITING IMPLEMENT: Pencil for sketches, Montblanc for notes.
Albert’s Essentials
