The Rome-based couture house’s bet on Rome’s most bankable design talent could help it punch above its weight.

Bidayat, a fund controlled by Rachid Mohamed Rachid, is set to relaunch Italian label Albini after acquiring its IP and archive, BoF can confirm. Rachid declined to comment on unconfirmed media reports that Alessandro Michele is involved.

In the long run, luxury brands that lean into timeless products consistently outperform their more fashion-driven peers, writes Pierre Mallevays.

Sabato De Sarno, a close associate of star designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, will succeed Alessandro Michele at the creative helm of Italy’s biggest brand.

A low-key, transitional menswear show suggested the brand is saving its marketing and financial firepower for its next creative leader.

The market is still digesting Gucci’s move to part ways with Alessandro Michele. A slowdown at Kering’s flagship brand was complicating the company’s wider ambitions, but change comes with risk as well as potential reward.

From 2015 to 2019, the designer’s trendsetting maximalist vision powered the modern luxury sector’s most successful turnaround ever. But more recently Kering’s flagship brand has struggled to keep up momentum.

With Kering’s flagship brand struggling to keep up momentum, analysts and investors rallied around a report saying creative director Alessandro Michele is set to leave the company.