Bergdorf Goodman‘s ’360-degree’ Celebration of Akris
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With windows, in-store installations and experiences, and even an evening for special clients at the New York Stock Exchange, Bergdorf Goodman is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Akris.
For the event, which started Thursday and is being touted as a “360-degree” campaign, Bergdorf is featuring an exclusive anniversary capsule collection. It takes inspiration from the ’80s and includes a tailored leather suit, plaid suiting, a cashmere jersey dress with a leather peplum-corsage set-in, and evening looks with lurex wool double-face with tulle insert.
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Three of Bergdorf’s Fifth Avenue windows and a fourth-floor installation display archival looks from Akris. There are also two displays on the main floor and a sixth floor Akris Punto installation. The windows and in-store visuals also highlight the anniversary book — another Bergdorf Goodman exclusive — titled “Akris — A Century in Fashion Selbstverständlich.” (The last word is the German word for “of course” in English.)
As of press deadline, Akris creative director Albert Kriemler, and Linda Fargo, BG’s senior vice president of women’s fashion and store presentation director, were set to host top clients at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, well after the closing bell. On the agenda: cocktails and dinner on the trading floor, videos from Akris’ just published 100th anniversary book, and a showing of Akris’ Paris runway show on NYSE’s large-scale screens.
“When preparing this collection, I remembered my first days in New York and how I discovered the famous Bergdorf Goodman Fifth Avenue windows in 1979. I felt the desire to see my future collections in these windows onto the world one day,” Kriemler said.
“This collection takes inspiration from the ’80s, when Akris was launched at Bergdorf’s by Dawn Mello, one of the first and only women in executive leadership at the time, wielding clout,” Kriemler said. Mello, Bergdorf’s legendary president, passed away in February 2020. “She was a woman with a keen eye and understated aesthetic, that helped shift the landscape of American fashion and paved the way for Akris in the United States. A true woman with purpose,” Kriemler said.
Looks in the collection are dedicated to Mello; Kriemler’s mother Ute Kriemler; Fargo; and singer/songwriter Alicia Keys who wore an Akris dress on the cover of her “Girl on Fire” album.
Through its digital channels, Bergdorf Goodman will mark the occasion through video and image content focusing on the spring 2023 Akris collection and runway show. Akris will amplify this on social media through a series of Instagram Reel and Instagram Stories content.
Akris was founded by Kriemler’s grandmother Alice Kriemler-Schoch. The brand’s roots are in St. Gallen, Switzerland, an epicenter for textile mills and embroidery houses since the 18th century. For Kriemler, incorporating exceptional fabrics into his fashion creation is at the center of his design process.
