First Lady Jill Biden Talks Women’s Empowerment in an Akris Dress

A CURIOUS CHOICE: While hosting a discussion about women’s empowerment in Mexico City, First Lady Jill Biden turned up in a cotton denim dress from an unexpected resource: the Swiss designer Albert Kriemler of Akris.

The colorfully printed, buttoned-up collared dress was from the brand’s 2023 resort collection. The first lady and President Joe Biden arrived in Mexico City on Sunday for a whirlwind tour that among other things drew attention to the 200th year of bilateral relations between the two nations. FLOTUS had hosted Mexico’s First Lady Gutierrez Muller and her son Jesus at the White House last year on Cinco de Mayo.

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On Tuesday, FLOTUS will enjoy a media-free lunch with Muller and Canada’s First Lady Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at the Palacio Nacional, followed by a tour of the Templo Mayor. The Bidens will head home later in the day. Their 48-hour stay included a trilateral dinner Monday night with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife. Earlier in the day, FLOTUS supported local students at a flag football event organized by Tochito NFL — a National Football League-backed flag football program that champions gender equality and girls’ empowerment. During her remarks earlier Monday at a meet-up with students, Jill Biden noted, “Poetry and prose, dance and music, they can unite us across time and languages, and borders.”

The creative director behind Akris is Albert Kriemler. Representatives from Akris did not respond immediately to a request asking how Akris and FLOTUS connected. The bespectacled designer traveled to the Beltway last fall for the unveiling of the Swiss boutique’s first store in Washington, D.C., at CityCenterDC. Known to take a studied approach to fashion, Kreimler is keen on collaborations with painters, architects, photographers and other creatives, having joined forces with Carmen Herrera, Geta Bratescu and Thomas Ruff, among other talents. The brand was founded in 1922 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Kreimler started working at the company in 1980.

Another often-photographed international personality — Princess Charlene of Monaco — is also a fan of Akris, having worn designs from the collection for key appearances in the principality and beyond. The wife of Prince Albert sported a sleeveless silver ecru metallic Lurex embroidered gown for the royal couple’s Happy New Year video that was posted on Instagram to kick off 2023. Princess Charlene has also turned up at Akris fashion shows.

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