Walter Albini's brand is ready for major relaunch The Arab fund Bidayat will start from designer's archive

The investment company Bidayat, founded by Rachid Mohamed Rachid, will relaunch the brand of Walter Albini, the Milanese fashion designer who reached the peak of his success in the 1960s and was defined by the international press of the time as the «new Italian star» as strong as Yves Saint Laurent. For Bidayat, this is the first acquisition of an Italian luxury brand, a gamble that will start with the commitment of Albini's archive and intellectual property to various museums and cultural institutions, with the ultimate aim of relaunching the brand on the catwalk. Although some recent reports have suggested that it would be Alessandro Michele who would become artistic director of the revamped Maison, Rachid preferred not to comment.

Bidayat's project to relaunch Walter Albini joins many others funded by the investment company. Established to support the arts in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Rachid Mohamed Rachid's company supports the growth of emerging brands by offering them a launch platform through mentoring and operational advice. Walter Albini's curator of the archive, Barbara Curti, will join Bidayat to help them rewrite the future of the Italian brand. «I look forward to being able to help ensure that many more generations can be inspired by the incredible talent of this designer,» explained Curti, «whose quest for perfection changed the entire Italian fashion ecosystem.»