On Monday, March 5, 2012, Stefano Pilati is leaving the house of Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), after showing the
Fall/Winter 2012 collection in Paris.Pilati has been the creative director of YSL since 2004, after working for Tom Ford (when Gucci Group acquired the house of YSL in 1993).
The company hasn't announced a successor yet, but will in the upcoming weeks.
Sources, ranging from Women's Wear Daily to The Wall Street Journal's "Heard On The Runway", predict that Hedi Slimane may return to YSL. Slimane designed the men's ready-to-wear (RTW) for the YSL brand in 1993, when Saint Laurent wanted to devote himself entirely to the haute couture line. After working for YSL, Slimane had reinvigorated the look of Dior Homme to an androgynous, modernist men's wear. After Slimane left Dior Homme in 2007, he has focused mainly on his photography.
*EDIT:
The last collection of YSL designed by Stefano Pilati (Women's Fall/Winter 2012 RTW) is available for view online on Style.com. The collection's summary/review, written by (fashion journalist & editor-at-large of Style.com) Tim Blanks, can be found on the site, as well as images of the new collection.
Also, Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 7am, Style.com confirmed the rumors that Hedi Slimane is returning to design for YSL!
According to Style.com, Slimane will have "total creative responsibility for the brand image and all its collections," while he continues his work in photography.
François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of YSL parent-company PPR, said, "As one of the most important French fashion houses, [YSL] today possesses formidable potential, which I am confident will be successfully harnessed and revealed through the vision of Hedi Slimane."
According to Fashionista, Slimane is expected to show a resort collection for the house of YSL in June 2012.
FYI: This will be Slimane's first time designing a women's-wear collection!
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Images from Style.com
