In the 1970s, the Italian designer Walter Albini was one of the great talents of the fashion world alongside fashion designers such as Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent. Now Bidayat wants to help the brand shine again.
On Tuesday, the investment firm founded by Rachid Mohamed Rachid announced that it had acquired the intellectual property and a substantial part of the archive of the well-known Italian fashion designer. The aim is to revive Walter Albini as a global luxury brand.
“We are honored to have discovered this hidden gem of Italian haute couture and are currently in the process of shedding light on Walter Albini’s rich legacy to lay the foundations for the future of the namesake brand,” said Rachid Mohamad Rachid, Founder and Chairman of Bidayat. “Walter Albini deserves to take its rightful place among the top luxury brands on the global stage. Our challenge will be finding the right leadership team to bring our vision and ambition to life.”
Alessandro Michele as creative director?
There is already speculation about the right management team, in particular the right creative direction of the historic house. Several media outlets have linked former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele to the project, but both the designer and Bidayat declined to comment on the rumours.
Since the end of the Michele era at Gucci, much has been rumored about the possible future of the designer with the eccentric design language and penchant for maximalism. After more than twenty years – seven of them as creative director – his name was synonymous with that of the Florentine fashion house, but the aesthetic parallels between Michele and Albini are clear and he himself frequently cited the late designer as a source of inspiration for his nostalgic collections for Gucci. So while the industry anxiously awaits Michele’s next steps, it’s not hard to imagine the designer at the helm of the resurrected fashion house.
Bidayat is currently collaborating with various museums, cultural institutions, curators, publishers, media partners and luxury consultants to “create awareness and recognition for the legacy of Walter Albini and his transformative impact on the fashion industry” before reviving the iconic brand. The investment company hasn’t revealed a timeline for when the brand will announce the creative and executive team or unveil its first collection.
The archive as the heart of the relaunch
The relaunch focuses on Walter Albini archival pieces, acquired by Barbara Curti, whose mother Marisa Curti has been a staunch supporter of Walter Albini since his early days as a designer. The archive is the brand’s largest collection of clothing and accessories, and includes clothing items that include Walter Albini’s iconic prints, fabric accessories, as well as costume jewellery, original drawings and photographs. Curti will continue to act as curator of the archive and advise Bidayat on the relaunch.
“I am delighted to be joining forces with Bidayat to continue to nurture and expand the extensive archive of Walter Albini,” said Senior Curator of the Albini Archives, Barbara Curti. “I look forward to many more generations to learn from this inspired by an incredibly talented designer whose quest for perfection shaped the whole of Italian fashion.”
Who was Walter Albini?
Born in Busto Arsizio, north of Milan, Walter Albini was an Italian fashion designer who became famous between the sixties and early eighties for his avant-garde and innovative approach to fashion. Internationally recognized as one of Italy’s greatest fashion designers, he is considered the founder of the concept of “Made in Italy” and one of the pioneers of the ready-to-wear movement in post-war Italy.
Although his name and brand were soon forgotten after his untimely death in 1983 at the age of 42, believed to be due to AIDS, Bidayat emphasizes that his unique creations continue to inspire some of the world’s most sought-after designers and artistic talents.
Albini initially collaborated with various fashion magazines, using his talent as an illustrator and graphic designer, contributing sketches of fashion shows in Rome and later in Paris. After moving to the French capital, he began working for the styling agencies of Maimè Arnodin and Denise Fayolle, designing prints and patterns for fabrics. In 1963 he designed his first collection for Gianni Baldini. He then worked for Mariuccia Mandelli, the famous fashion designer known as Krizia, for three years, where he collaborated with the young Karl Lagerfeld.
By the late 1960s, Albini had already worked for some of the most influential Italian fashion houses of the time, including Billy Ballo, Cadette, Cole of California, Montedoro, Misterfox, Glans, Annaspina, Paola Signorini and Trell.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Albini had established himself as one of the most sought-after designers in Italy and created his own line, which united five manufacturers from different areas in a single ready-to-wear collection and established the concept of the “total look” on the catwalk. He also paved the way for today’s Milan Fashion Week by being one of the first designers to leave Florence’s historic Palazzo Pitti for Milan.
Famed designer Gianni Versace wrote the following about Walter Albini in 1988’s ‘Walter Albini: Style in Fashion’: “There were many things I loved about Albini: his irrepressible creativity, the way he approached women more than anything wanted to make others elegant and timeless.”
This article was published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Jule Scott