Remember me
Albert Kriemler travelled to Bogotá last September to meet Olga de Amaral, a Colombian textile artist who has spent over sixty years turning horsehair and gold leaf into sculptural history. The creative director arrived with a clear belief about his own creative process. “I don’t think in words; I think in touch and texture,” Kriemler says, and this sentiment defined the entirety of Akris’ Autumn/Winter 2026 collection.
The Swiss designer finds a deep connection between his garments and Amaral’s woven art because of their shared history. “It is telling that textile and text share the same root: ‘texere’ – to weave and to tell,” he explains. The collection, showcased at the Palais de Tokyo, was anchored by a shimmering gold curtain that gently swayed with the models mirroring the suspended threads and light play in Amaral’s work.
The Colombian artist’s studio is a place where wool and linen become monumental presences. Kriemler observed how she treats her materials with fond respect. “Olga sees her work as presences — without intrusion,” he notes. Visually, this idea translates into cocoon coats made of black-gold fragmented jacquard and short sheath dresses covered in layered organza tiles.
The collaboration pushed the house to experiment with unusual surfaces, such as eel-lacquered leather in turquoise and merlot red, or horsehair-cotton skirts that have a fringed hem. These materials are chosen because they trigger memory and invite sensation through the skin.
Colour acts as a primary language for both the designer and the artist. Amaral’s ‘Nudo’ and ‘Alquimia’ series use gold and vibrant pigments to turn textiles into light. “I love colours, I live colours,” says Amaral, and Kriemler mirrors this energy throughout the collection. Magenta cashmere coats appear alongside Amazon green faux fur and caladium red silk georgette gowns. These shades are absolute and unapologetic. The Fuego Negro print on silk crepe gowns offers a visual depth that feels like a Colombian landscape caught in the weave of a Swiss loom.
The silhouette is built on the feeling of being oneself. Kriemler wants the woman to be felt before she is seen. This is achieved through chunky hand-knit boxy sweaters in gold and black-coffee cardigans cinched with belts. The presence of the hand is visible in every knot and braid. From the velvet neoprene tube coats to the gold lamé leather bustier gowns, the focus remains on the rare gift of texture.
This collaboration is a celebration of the items we inherit and the lessons we pass down through the years. The final look, a caladium red silk crepe bustier gown with degradé maxi fringes, moves like a living sculpture. It is a wardrobe for the woman who exists in three dimensions, leaving a memory of her presence in the air long after she has left the room.
Discover the Autumn/Winter 2026 collection here.
photography. courtesy of Akris
words. Gennaro Costanzo
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