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Alessandro Michele, the architect of Gucci’s revamp who abruptly resigned in November, is preparing his comeback. The 50-year-old stylist is secretly working on reviving the Italian fashion name Walter Albini, according to several industry sources. Albini, widely considered the father of Italian ready-to-wear, is a designer Michele has always admired. Could it be a match made in fashion heaven?

Michele made his first appearance in public in months at the Met Gala in New York last week on the arm of Agnelli heiress and movie producer Ginevra Elkann. Michele dressed as a flamboyant, 1970s’ version of Karl Lagerfeld, at the event in the Kaiser’s honor.

In that flamboyancy, Michele also recalled Albini, a brilliant dandy designer who shot to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s. His explosive creativity and classy looks had him compared with both Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent at the time.

But Albini did not live long enough for many people to remember him outside of Italy. Albini died of AIDS in 1983, at the height of his stardom, at the age of 42. For fashion insiders Albini is ripe for revival - and Michele is the ideal creative to do it.

GENDERLESS

Like Michele, Albini was considered a pioneer of genderless fashion, making suits for women and men alike. Albini too was known for his “total looks.” These involved not only entire silhouettes and accessories using the same theme, fabric or colors but also matching curtains and sofa.These produced striking images beloved by photographers and fashion magazine editors. Albini was known for working closely with fabric and clothes manufacturers. He helped industrialize and democratize fashion and contributed to the emergence of what would become known as Italian ready-to-wear.

In common with Albini, Michele’s baroque and eclectic universe is not only about clothes - it’s also about lifestyle and decoration. The long-haired and tattooed stylist loved designing for the Tuscan porcelain maker Ginori 1735 which Gucci saved from bankruptcy ten years ago. And like Albini, Michele is passionate about unisex clothes and accessories. Some fashion critics say Michele has influenced the rise of genderless as a major trend in fashion. The Italian stylist, who spent 20 years at Gucci and became creative director in 2015, admitted several times in interviews to being inspired by Albini’s legacy.

Some Italian media reported that Walter Albini is being relaunched by the Qatari fund Mayhoola that owns Valentino and Balmain. That’s incorrect, informed sources have told Miss Tweed.The Walter Albini brand and its archives were acquired last year by Bidayat, an investment company founded two years ago by Rachid Mohammed Rachid, several sources with first-hand knowledge of the matter told Miss Tweed on condition of anonymity. Rachid is also CEO of Mayhoola and chairman of fashion brands Balmain and Valentino.An Egyptian national, Rachid was previously Minister of Trade, Industry, and Investment of Egypt and president of Unilever North Africa.

BIDAYAT

Based in Switzerland, Bidayat is funded by Rachid’s family office Alsara Investment Group which has over $2 billion in assets under management and focuses primarily on markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The group has invested in many companies, including Japanese luxury eyewear maker Akoni which works for Valentino and Balmain.

Though Bidayat, Rachid invests in up-and-coming fashion, jewelry and accessories brands from around the Mediterranean Basin, putting in from $500,000 to $10 million. Bidayat has invested in the Egyptian accessories brand Okhtein and in the jeweler Azza Fahmy, a brand currently advised by former Kering watch and jewelry executive Albert Bensoussan.

“Mr Rachid is passionate about entrepreneurship and Bidayat is a way for him to support talents and take risks,” a source close to Mayhoola told Miss Tweed declining to be named. “This is a very serious project for Bidayat,” the source explained. “A lot of work and resources are being invested in it,” the person said, adding that the relaunch of the Walter Albini brand was due to take place a few months from now. Rachid may have found the designer to relaunch the label but he is still looking for a CEO and a Chief Merchandising Officer, the source said. Building teams takes time and is no easy task.

Still, the prospect of Michele reviving Albini is tantalizing. Michele, may have left Gucci because owner Francois-Henri Pinault wanted a change of mood at the Italian mega brand, but Michele still remains a creative juggernaut whose maximalist style has millions of followers. During his seven-year tenure, Gucci’s annual revenues went from €3.9 billion to more than €10 billion.

“He’s a great match for Albini,” one senior industry source said about the choice of Michele for resuscitating the name of the late Italian designer. Some creatives are better at telling others’ stories than their own. Michele’s run at Gucci suggests he is a master at this skill. Will he be able to do the same at Albini? The superlative example of this was Karl Lagerfeld, who worked for Krizia alongside Albini in the late 1960s, and who was always more successful designing for Fendi and for Chanel than he was for his own eponymous brand, fashion critics say. Some designers are not comfortable telling their own personal story. It forces them to reveal their inner selves and makes them feel vulnerable. They much prefer hiding their sensibility behind the mask of another person. That way, they feel protected and more at ease to create.

SLEEPING BEAUTIES

The fashion industry is full of success stories of designers who resuscitated sleeping beauties. The advantage of that business model is that when the brand parts ways with a designer for whatever reason, it still has a chance to survive and even thrive under another creative director. Balenciaga, Schiaparelli and Yves Saint Laurent are good examples. And then are some prestigious historic names in fashion such as early 20th century Madeleine Vionnet and Paul Poiret who never found the right designer and business partner to help them really take off. Under the ownership of Korean retailer Shinsegae International, Paul Poiret’s fashion debut flopped and now it’s mainly a cosmetics brands sold in Asia.

Even though Michele built a huge fan base with his colorful, romantic and geek chic looks and is now actually much better known today than Albini, it makes more sense for him to bring back a historic name on the fashion map and make it relevant again than launching his own label, fashion industry analysts say. “Michele is currently working on a start-up but he’s keeping that project very secret,” a senior industry source told Miss Tweed.

ILLUSTRATOR

Born in Busto Arsizio, outside of Milan, in 1941, Albini was the only male attending the all-girls Institute of Art, design and fashion at Turin University. At 17, he started as an illustrator, producing ads for fashion magazines and rapidly applied his talent to drawing clothes and accessories.

Albini broke with the tradition of showcasing in Florence’s historic Palazzo Pitti, by hosting catwalks in Milan. And many other brands would follow him. Today, Milan is Italy’s fashion capital. The designer drew inspiration from all kinds of artistic movements from Gustav Klimt and Art Deco to films from the Inter-War period. He was also very impressed by the rigor and vision of Coco Chanel whom he met in Paris in the early 1960s.

In the meantime, there are plenty of signs a relaunch is underway, although it remains behind-the-scenes. TheWalter Albini website that showcased the late designer’s work and told the designer’s story was shut down this week. It now only features a logo with “W” sitting above an “A” on a white page with an email contact. That email contact never replied to a request for an explanation as to why the website was pulled down.

Hired by Bidayat, students at Italy’s Bocconi University, have been interviewing specialists on how to best revive dormant heritage brands in preparation for this project, one senior industry source said.Official documents from the European Union Intellectual Property Office show that the owner of the brand changed address in Milan last month.

What’s more, Stefano Tonchi, an Italian fashion industry veteran is understood to be advising Rachid and the Bidayat teams on how to best bring back the spirit of the legendary designer. Maria Luisa Frisa co-authored with Tonchi, former editor of W fashion magazine, a book called Walter Albini and his times: All power to the imagination, published in 2010 by Marsilio Editori.

Bidayat, Rachid and Tonchi did not reply to requests for comment.

Even though speculation is growing about Michele’s comeback and his involvement with this revival, the project is kept under wraps for now. The plan is to say something only when the teams and the strategy are in place. This may not happen as fast at Rachid would like.

Still, the stage is being set for an enticing revival not only of Albini, but also Michele.