Stefano Pilati - Designer

[Flashbang]

Stefano Pilati Talks About Leaving YSL for the First Time

Stefano Pilati took the stage last night at the French Institute Alliance Française in front of a crowd that included Joseph Altuzarra, Iris Apfel, and Derek Blasberg. FIAF's selection of the designer for its Fashion Talks series was either strategic or serendipitous, since Pilati stepped down as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent exactly four weeks ago. Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar introduced him using his own words: “Stefano once said, ‘You can find greatness everywhere, you just have to look.’ Well, here’s looking at you, Stefano. We can’t wait to see where your journey takes you next." Presumably, many people came to the event to find out where that might be — one audience member even asked Pilati to hire her when he starts his own line, assuming he will — and while that question remains unanswered, Pilati offered up plenty of entertaining responses to moderator Pamela Golbin's questions. See what he had to say about his current state of mind, working at YSL while Yves was still around, and dealing with the press's oftentimes unrelenting criticism.

On his current state of mind: Absolutely great. I’m really good, I’m really happy. I didn’t think it would be possible to feel happy under this kind of circumstance ... I’m here and all these people are interested in listening to me — what more do you want?

On working with Tom Ford at YSL: Let’s not go there. Challenging is not the right word. It was traumatic! It was tragical. No, no, it was great, of course, it was great. You know what, Tom has such a self-confidence that you can really absorb it — he has enough for everyone around him, and I definitely got it. I was like, yeah, give it to me! I question every single moment of my life — about myself, what I do, what I say, what I didn’t say, if my idea is good or not good, you know. So imagine, somebody who actually brings me there and gives me a lot of responsibility. It was an amazing relationship.

On working for YSL while Yves Saint Laurent (the man) was still living: Oh yeah, I forgot about him! ... It was pretty complicated, I have to say ... In 2008, when he passed away, a lot of people started to ask me, 'Do you feel that something has changed or is gonna change now that he’s not alive anymore?' And firstly I said no, you know I’ve always tried to do my best, but in fact, it [had] changed. I could really feel it. The fact that his physical presence wasn’t there anymore, in a way, gave me a sense of freedom.

On not taking fashion too seriously: You know, we can live without fashion. We can live very well without fashion. If you like fashion and you embrace fashion and you want to wear fashion, well, good for you. In the sense that, it’s a good gesture to yourself, and it’s a good [image] to project … There’s a lot of politics involved, a lot of diplomacy involved — it’s like, who are we saving here?

On his greatest achievement at YSL: [When] Tom left, the company was not in good shape; actually, it had a lot of losses. And the aim was to have the house profitable … so, I focused on that, I put aside my ego, I put aside my freedom, and I work hard to also respond to what the market was asking for … I started to do [accessories], and it was successful, but also I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the design aspect … I was in the learning process. I think what happened between 2004 and 2012 is that there were an amazing eight years of a learning process. The house [has been] profitable since 2008, and I don’t feel like I sacrificed [any]thing.

On his lowest point at YSL: No low point. It would be blasphemy to say there’s a low point. I live an amazing life in Paris, I’ve been loved by many colleagues and collaborators. I have the chance to work in fashion — to be in fashion is a privileged place.

On criticism from the press: I think it’s normal. I think it’s the way it has to go. I mean, to be controversial makes people think. That’s important … At least controversy makes people stop and have a few questions. It’s not synonymous with mediocrity to be controversial. I think it fits me … I’m controversial with myself … Obviously, you do a collection and you think you’re the best; in the world, there’s no comparison. Then it doesn’t happen, and you need to re-settle a bit, come to terms with your reality. Obviously it doesn’t make you happy.

On what’s next: Lots and lots of vacation. No, what’s next is important. Again, I find myself with this amazing experience, and I want to use it for something that makes me feel that I’m part of this moment and era … I’m pretty sure that I have the energy and the knowledge at least to try to do something relevant.

nymag.com

 

[kasper!]

Bump....

I think we could use this as the general discuss thread for Mr Pilati.

 

[tourbillions]

wish his brand was more accessible really love some of the things there and the quality was amazing from what i saw in store

 

[Kanzai]

wish his brand was more accessible really love some of the things there and the quality was amazing from what i saw in store

He's hot lol. Is he still active in fashion ?

 

[tourbillions]

He's hot lol. Is he still active in fashion ?

i think you meant his ysl era he is giving techno hobo berlin vibes these days, he has a brand called random identities

 

[GoldenPetals]

I'm very indifferent to him. I'm fine if he never leads a major house again. I remember almost nothing from his years at YSL because his direction was so boring and overcalculated.

Random Identities has some desirable men's pieces though. Although laughably overpriced.

 

[Kanzai]

I'm very indifferent to him. I'm fine if he never leads a major house again. I remember almost nothing from his years at YSL because his direction was so boring and overcalculated.

Random Identities has some desirable men's pieces though. Although laughably overpriced.

just checked, and i would say his men clothes r way more worth the price than the cheap sh*ts in Vetements

 

[LadyJunon]

I'm very indifferent to him. I'm fine if he never leads a major house again. I remember almost nothing from his years at YSL because his direction was so boring and overcalculated.

I remember crying and fawning over his YSL, because I didn't connect to Hedi's SLP at all. I quickly got over it when they started showing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ He really did offer supreme separates at YSL— for both women and men. The branding was nowhere close to the supremacy of Tom’s YSL, but once you got to the separates, the men’s suiting as a personal preference, he really was a master tailor. Never did get into his Zegna, as it started out solidly enough— just that towards the end, his midlife crisis started to flare up by then and that absolutely infested his Zegna to resemble some late-80s faSHON manifestation: Interesting to look at for one hot second, but so ridiculous to even imagine on his client. Unfortunate Stefano is still marinating in his midlife crisis with his Random Identities. Oh well.

But it’s admirable that he broke away from the oppressing fashion system that’s quadrupled down since his reign, and doing what is apparently true to his current tastes (.. of which I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole LOL). Different standards and corporate-tolerance aside, I wonder had creatives like Ghesquiere and Hedi broken away from their corporate overlords and started their own labels post-Dior Homme and Balenciaga, what their current evolution would be like…??? These two are masters of adaptation and assimilation, yet still, their current work clearly pales by comparison to the inventiveness, creativity and revolutionary vision that they had back in those fashion golden days. Or maybe they would be headed in the same direction as Stefano's Random Identities LOL

 

[tourbillions]

i think ghesquires own brand will already be a lot like his louis vuitton. There he doesn't really have strict codes to follow so he can go wild creatively as long as it sells

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Perhaps. Ghesquiere may be able to go wild— to the point of trolling with a lot of Vuitton’s showpieces that verge on sloppy juvenile cosplay with even seller styling, because the bags and footwear will carry the brand. And let’s be frank, megabrands as Vuitton and Chanel can troll with garbage bags and prison slides, but as long as the logo/monograms are attached, the fashion victimz with too much money and not enough wits will snatch them up.

If he were to survive on his own namesake label, he would no doubt be so much more attentive, put in more of an effort and dispense with the trolling fashions and styling. Just looking at Phoebe’s own namesake debut, not a single trolling item for offer. Sure, it’s more basic, more accessible, more diffusion-line reductive in its offering, but still very much no-nonsense separate-centric and definitely more commercial. People often underestimate the draw of and the profit of logo/monogram. And next to Chanel’s— and maybe even more so since it’s for both women dn men, the Vuitton logo/monogram is coveted by both rich and poor, elite and mass, and both insider and outsider. Ghesquiere would not have that crutch if he were to leave Vuitton.

 

[jeanclaude]

^^^ Perhaps. Ghesquiere may be able to go wild— to the point of trolling with a lot of Vuitton’s showpieces that verge on sloppy juvenile cosplay with even seller styling, because the bags and footwear will carry the brand. And let’s be frank, megabrands as Vuitton and Chanel can troll with garbage bags and prison slides, but as long as the logo/monograms are attached, the fashion victimz with too much money and not enough wits will snatch them up.

If he were to survive on his own namesake label, he would no doubt be so much more attentive, put in more of an effort and dispense with the trolling fashions and styling. Just looking at Phoebe’s own namesake debut, not a single trolling item for offer. Sure, it’s more basic, more accessible, more diffusion-line reductive in its offering, but still very much no-nonsense separate-centric and definitely more commercial. People often underestimate the draw of and the profit of logo/monogram. And next to Chanel’s— and maybe even more so since it’s for both women dn men, the Vuitton logo/monogram is coveted by both rich and poor, elite and mass, and both insider and outsider. Ghesquiere would not have that crutch if he were to leave Vuitton.

Literally! They could very well sell dog turds with their logos over it...and there would be people buying all of it!

 

[Lola701]

I have a personal affection to Stefano’s work (for obvious personal reasons) and I think he did some fabulous things at YSL.

There was something funny about his tenure and particularly the beginning. The critics of Tom labeled him as a « stylist » so when Stefano took over, they expected from him to show that the brilliance at YSL was really his…
I have to command Stefano on the fact that as a designer, he was committed to the idea of pushing fashion forward. But, he took the opposite route of Tom and became more radical as time passed and more and more detached from the spirit of YSL and even the desire of women.

For me Stefano is the one who put YSL back in the streets. Tom gave YSL back it relevance in the fashion conversation but also it luster as a serious opponent to Dior and Chanel but Stefano had a very wardrobe oriented approach that spoke to the working women.

I think he had an impressive run of very successful collections, from FW2006 to FW2008. The collections were good, the campaigns were good. I remember the stores with the opium color. He pushed a lot of things in terms of fabrics development, cuts. The menswear was chic. His last menswear collection for YSL was fabulous!

But in a way, he is like a « bastard child » of the impressive talents who had the chance to work for YSL. Alber, Tom and Hedi are incredible creative directors. The confidence they have in their aesthetic is admirable in a way that cannot be said about Stefano.

When you look at what Alber did for Lanvin, genius. What Tom did for Gucci, YSL, his own brand…Genius! The same for Hedi.

But some of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe but also collections are from Stefano.

i think ghesquires own brand will already be a lot like his louis vuitton. There he doesn't really have strict codes to follow so he can go wild creatively as long as it sells

I actually think it wouldn’t.
I think Ghesquière’s brand would actually be like Balenciaga. He put a lot of himself in Balenciaga. I think that his style is recognizable and in a way, his work could never look like someone else. But I also think that the ressources of Vuitton, the need to create an image, to fill stores makes him create differently.
He is still pushing fashion forward but it’s less directional than his work for Balenciaga.
The simple fact that he has to put a bag on almost every look, that he has to work with logos (something he avoid at Balenciaga) changes totally the approach. And I think the fact that he is geek in terms of textile is less obvious nowadays…

 

[LadyJunon]

I actually think that Ghesquière's work under own label would be closer to Balenciaga than to Louis Vuitton. Balenciaga was arguably a blank slate at his appointment and he didn't have access to the archives, so he pretty much had to rebuild the brand in what was his image. In a more Chanel/Hermès-like structure, he could've possibly stayed for 20 to 30+ years like Lagerfeld and Nichanian.

One thing that I've observed when looking through his interview archives is that he's always had a consistent interest in the craft of clothes. Weird clothes, but clothes nonetheless. Even in his interviews during his early years at Louis Vuitton, Ghesquière frequently expressed the desire to create a wardrobe for the Louis Vuitton woman.

My theory is that the visual structure of his current shows (huge volumes, super-maximalist, Louvre setting) has more to do with corporate meddling in order to create a grandiose spectacle to sell bags and leather goods (like Marc Jacobs' later shows for the brand). That's why Virgil Abloh's collections for Louis Vuitton looked the way they did compared to those at Off-White.

 

[kasper!]

Mr Pialti walking for Louis Vuitton Homme 2024 S/S

 

[LadyJunon]

Mr Pialti walking for Louis Vuitton Homme 2024 S/S

View attachment 1245418

Thanks, I hate it.

 

[kasper!]

Yes someone need to stop this Chanel Homme tweed jacket trend, which is very popular somewhere in East Asia.

 

[Phuel]

LOL You’re such a snob and a half @LadyJunon! He looks good physically; broad shoulders and a headful of hair… he’s hovering 60yo.

My theory is that the visual structure of his current shows (huge volumes, super-maximalist, Louvre setting) has more to do with corporate meddling in order to create a grandiose spectacle to sell bags and leather goods (like Marc Jacobs' later shows for the brand). That's why Virgil Abloh's collections for Louis Vuitton looked the way they did compared to those at Off-White.

Absolutely. There’s a whole lot of trcksies, gimmicks, pageantry and loudness— oftentimes verging on obnoxious with Nicolas’ Vuitton direction, along with MAS’ styling amplifies this to an annoying, deliberate spectacle. And it’s absolutely by design to create this grandiose illusion much the same way that a pop queen's stadium show is these exercise in excess to create the illusion of importance. And Nicolas is serving Vuitton as The King of FaSHON.

There were always showpieces with his Balencaiga— but they were clearly not gaudy, as glaringly pop-for-the-people as his Vuitton showpieces. He’s shrewdly versatile and designs accordingly, but I’m also convened his own label would be more nuanced and studied, less Vegas and more more Warhol’s Factory. Like Tom and Hedi, Nicolas has a great business sense and knows how to accommodate his more creative sensibility accordingly. From his first offering for Vuitton, it was clear he knew how to cater to the brand’s projections and the already shifting fashionscape. His Balenciaga sensibilities would not work for Vuitton’s more commercial, more pop demands. He (along with Tom and Hedi) are great models to carefully study and learn for new, young designers. Talent, creativity, passion and soul are not enough to sustain a labe of Vuitton’s stature. Learn it, kidz.

What turns me so off about Stefano’s current state of design, and RI is all we, as obsessed fashion observers/consumers have to judge by, is there’s this immense regression rather than progression: The cut, the construction, the hard-learned skills that he acquired from Gucci to Zegna, is simply not there with his current efforts. And that reeks of a certain neglect of one’s hard-earned skills and craft. I get that RI is more affordable, accessible, and for a much younger customer, so the production investment can’t be there for the pricepoint. But it’s such an overall regression… At least that’s in sync with everyone else in the industry LOL

 

[fenty]

Daddy!!! lmfaooo

 

[tourbillions]

What turns me so off about Stefano’s current state of design, and RI is all we, as obsessed fashion observers/consumers have to judge by, is there’s this immense regression rather than progression: The cut, the construction, the hard-learned skills that he acquired from Gucci to Zegna, is simply not there with his current efforts. And that reeks of a certain neglect of one’s hard-earned skills and craft. I get that RI is more affordable, accessible, and for a much younger customer, so the production investment can’t be there for the pricepoint. But it’s such an overall regression… At least that’s in sync with everyone else in the industry LOL

i think he is doing it on purpose... need to see his fendi collab first to judge weather his mastery is still there.