Amelia Earhart had something of the tomboy about her. Who knew she was such a sucker for loveliness? Albert Kriemler took her as his muse for Akris' pre-fall collection, which he prefaced with a quote from the aviatrix herself: "I have often said that the lure of flying is the lure of beauty." She was convinced that this was the real reason that flyers fly.
In knowing that, you know more about why Akris, with its focus on sensual luxury, would make Earhart its icon. (That the house is also well known for tailoring doesn't hurt.) The more boyish shapes of the pre-fall collection—the pegged trousers, bomber jackets, and penny loafers—called tomboys to mind. (Even if you happened to be dense, the red leather aviator's jumpsuit and the flying goggles on every model should have made that all very plain.) But the fabrications were, as always, pushed to the hilt. There was shearling for miles—in coats, in vests, in capes—pushed further here than Akris ever has before, in colors like sunset and canary: horizon shades. There were blue suits in a color the company called "denim," but don't get confused—they're cashmere. There'll always be a photo print at the label, and this season's represented the abstracted lines of landscape seen from the air.
After the rich colors of the early deliveries, the collection shaded into more graphic black and white—territory, a rep hinted, that Kriemler will be taking up for Fall. The delicate blouse in laser-cut silk chiffon was feminine, almost to a fault. Earhart and her influence had been grounded. Or maybe it's nicer to think of her still out there somewhere, far removed but appreciating it all from the above.
