Alsara Investment Group launches new luxury brand

MILAN — Alsara Investment Group is launching a new luxury brand called Retori which will be entirely made in Italy.

Made up of ready-to-wear and accessories collections for women and men, the new brand is described as trans-seasonal and will be presented twice a year.

“Retori takes its name from rhetoric, the art of telling stories,” said Salma Rachid, founder and creative director. “Each collection is a chapter steeped in the emotional stories of artists from around the world. The brand connects a diverse community of artists, allowing them to share their unique journeys through life.

Retori will have its headquarters in Milan, where the first collection – Chapter 01 – will be unveiled with the first sales campaign starting on Tuesday and with a launch in the second half of 2024.

Rachid said his intention is to “blend comfort and practicality with elegance, creating clothes that do more than just dress the body: they resonate with personal stories helping wearers embrace the journeys that life unfolds.”

The designer is the daughter of Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who created Alsara Investment Group in 2017.

Shahzad Akhtar, Managing Director of Alsara Investment Group, expressed his pride in the launch of Retori, which “embodies the key values ​​we uphold at Alsara: talent, product and innovation”.

Alsara is growing a group of Milan-based luxury brands that includes cool down jacket brand Khrisjoy and design firm Fromm, while also reviving the brand of Walter Albini, one of the founders of Italian ready-to-wear . The idea is to promote “Italian know-how around the world,” Akhtar said.

Other brands and companies in the group's portfolio include Akoni, which produces eyewear for Valentino and Balmain; investor Bidayat; Egypt-based jewelry brand Azza Fahmy; accessories brand Okhtein and Flyroom. Salma Rachid is also the creative director of Akoni.

Despite the volatile and difficult global geopolitical scene, Alsara is confident about the launch. “The luxury market still has growth potential for innovative ideas and new challenges,” said Zaccheo Manzoni, appointed CEO of Retori. The brand, he believes, “is aimed at creative communities who seek a harmonious blend of comfort and practicality with elegance and beauty”.

In January, Alsara told WWD that she was working to incubate a new ready-to-wear brand for men and women. “Alsara offers an exciting opportunity to build the next generation of luxury brands on the pillars of talent, quality products and innovation,” Akhtar remarked at the time. Milan is also an important reference, Akhtar said, as the basis of a true fashion hub for Alsara. “It was natural for us to choose Milan. Why go anywhere else as it is a key fashion and financial capital, home to powerful brands, and nurturing innovation and creativity, blending history, culture and heritage, boosting talent and brands .

Akhtar was named group CEO of Alsara Strategic Investments last July, a new position within the company, highlighting the increased focus on brand building and mergers and acquisitions activities.

Alsara Investment Group is an international private investment company based in Switzerland. In addition to a portfolio of owned and operated investments in luxury brands, it provides investment advisory and management services and invests in venture capital, private equity and growth funds. In 2021, it acquired a majority stake in Khrisjoy with a view to expanding its global reach, product offering and digital capabilities. Positioned in the luxury range of the market and made in Italy, the brand has become cult with its cocooning Khris hooded down jacket. Last February, Khrisjoy made a presentation during Milan Fashion Week, a first for the Italian brand, designed by Marzia Bellotti, which marked a new milestone.

Rachid Mohamed Rachid is also chairman of Valentino and CEO of the brand's parent company Mayhoola, which also owns Balmain and Italian menswear brand Pal Zileri. Earlier in his career, he served as Egypt's Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, and an executive at Unilever.