Akris Spring 2026 — Color and Line
Just when you think you have recognized the pared-down principle in Leon Polk Smith’s work, it catches you by surprise.
Seven Involvements in One © 1966 Leon Polk Smith Foundation
In 2023, I visited his exhibition at Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich, and there, commanding the room, was Seven
Involvements in One. Vivid, precise, liberated — a free-standing object full of pulse and offbeat bravado.
Smith once said he thought of his work as the opposite of minimal. I can relate to that. Akris is about essence, not reduction — about using form and fabric to bring the person into light.
It’s not about looking minimal; it’s about being essential.
Albert Kriemler
Runway
For Spring 2026, Akris explores pureness not as limitation, but as a universe. The collection becomes a space where structure, intuition, and sensuality coexist. Draped fringe knits echo Smith’s curvilinear lines; our signature Trapezoid embroidery evolves into presence — architectural yet fluid. Every piece is shaped from fabric with craftsmanship and the precision of Swiss design, allowing movement to feel both liberated and intentional.
There is a dynamic tension in the contrasts: sheer embroidered overlays juxtaposed with pragmatic separates like crisp denims and summer leather. The Alice bag, in horsehair and satin, glows in bursts of sun, lapis blue, and orange — a flash of color that connects art and life.
Akris Spring/Summer 2026 is a dialogue of color and line — art, architecture, freedom and form. It is a reminder that in simplicity, there is infinite expression.
Leon Polk Smith (1906–1996) was a pioneering figure of the Hard-Edge style in Minimal art. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he drew inspiration from the vast horizons of the American Southwest and Native American art forms. In his celebrated Correspondence series, two colors and a line meet in perfect equilibrium, merging geometry with emotion. His work is held in major museums worldwide, including MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
