Walter Albini

the designers

Walter Albini was born in 1941. He studied fashion and costume design at the Instituto State di Bella e Moda at Turin in Italy before moving to France. There he worked as an illustrator for various Italian magazines from 1959 to 1960.

In 1960, he returned to Italy and joined Krizia where he stayed for three years. He also did freelance designing for Callaghan. Thereafter he produced several ready-to-wear collections for Basile.

In 1965 he opened his own business for luxury sportswear. Walter Albini was acclaimed as a formative and inspirational talent. Working in association with avant-garde editors such as Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue, he was hailed as a master of casual, colourful ease.

By 1971, he was presenting collections for 5 different houses each season. Some of the houses he designed for were Callaghan and Misterfox.

His career was cut short by an early death in 1983 in Milan.

the look

Walter Albini was heavily influenced by Chanel and Patou, and inspired by the glamorous clothes of the movies in the 30’s and 40’s, he successfully translated these ideas into subtle, cleverly cut garments which won considerable acclaim in Europe. Bold colours from Asian and African art, as well as bright tartans were employed on his jackets, skirts and other basic silhouettes. As much as any 70’s designer, Albini energized anti establishment hippie layering and ethnicity and mixed them with the sophistication of the urbane sportswear pedigree. Furthermore he often worked with silk and handled other luxurious fabrics in a sensitive manner.