Stefano Pilati - Designer

[PDFSD]

There seems to be a rumour of Pilati going to Tom Ford:

If that's the case, I wouldn't be mad at all. He's one of the few designers working today with the capacity of designing menswear and womenswear with equal skill. One could argue that he's too intellectual in his approach, but I think that could work in today's anti-glamazon era.

I would not mind his neurotic dark chic ways , somewhat tortured intellectual side brought to the jet set sleeks sex Tom Ford in the mix it could be the right mix for ward to make TF more chic and exclusive and still keep the sexy dark edge that TF did well in his best moments.

 

[yslforever]

Pilati is going to Chanel!!????

Where is this coming from ?

 

[Creative]

Would you imagine? I don’t think it’s a match made in heaven but I wouldn’t be against it,
especially if he goes for the chic, elegant and more romantic version of himself.

I don’t think he will be considered for Chanel tho.

 

[TomBlanksFullFatMiuMiu]

After a few days of thought... he is only good on paper
Let's remember Stefano is in his mid-life crisis mode though
This is his most recent work for Fendi Resort 2024, I only like the teal dress
The rest... the fit... those colours... those fabrics... even the stying, very his late era of YSL, not great

He is posting his greatest on ig, the frills and romance but that's YSL, not TF
TF doesn't do pink chiffon evening or violet floral dresses, if he is going to do similar work from his late 2008-2012 period, I smell trouble already

 

[tourbillions]

His fendi wasnt up to par to his YSL but at this time its much better still than wverything we've been seeing. Not his fault no one really cares about fendi atm.

 

[tricotineacetat]

His fendi wasnt up to par to his YSL but at this time its much better still than wverything we've been seeing. Not his fault no one really cares about fendi atm.

Do you honestly consider the womenswear looks posted above as „much better still than everything we've been seeing“?

This could be okay for Hugo Boss but I don‘t think it‘s sparking a lot of joy if we‘re being honest - particularly that forest green skirt suit. 😱

 

[PDFSD]

Fendi not his best ....looks tortured and flat

 

[tourbillions]

Do you honestly consider the womenswear looks posted above as „much better still than everything we've been seeing“?

This could be okay for Hugo Boss but I don‘t think it‘s sparking a lot of joy if we‘re being honest - particularly that forest green skirt suit. 😱

definitely more design and thought put into them than ancora guy or mcqueen guy... or jones own fendi. And with a small capsule collection, he instantly had his fendi woman for better or for worst.

 

[rip_ian curtis]

I absolutely loved that long white Fendi dress that looks like a bathing suit top and slashed pleated trousers combined. That’s a strong piece right there, with a whiff of his good days at YSL. The rest can go, especially that terrible green suit (who would wear that in todays fashion landscape??) and that last cocktail dress look that makes me think of bad Dior collections from 2009-2010 (especially with that hair).

While I really liked some collections he did at Zegna and the 2007-2009 period at YSL, I’m not super convinced he would nail it the same way if he were to return today. We love things from his past while at the same time dislike what he has done in recent years at RI and Fendi. Why would he or anyone else suddenly go back creatively and continue designing things similar to something they did 15 years ago? There is a bigger chance he would make something that reflects his life and taste now (Berlin influences and all included).

 

[lookatme]

That Fendi collection he did was extremely YSL Spring 2012 - a show of his I never cared for then or now.

 

[avonlea002]

Yikes, that Fendi collection was truly awful. It looks dated and cheap.

 

[Creative]

That collection is so, so, so bad. Even worse than his late YSL shows. I wonder why they said yes to it. It’s sooooo lazy and uninspired.

He had an opportunity to shine and that’s all he did. Meh.

 

[style_expert]

Pilati for TF ? I am in. I know his lens would be perfect anyway and if he is willing to be more around his YSL days (based on his insta feed) then I will be interested to see his womens.

He had amazing campaign, nice shoes and bags during his tenure and he has definitely more charisma than Hawkings.

I agree. There were so many hits in the shoes and leather goods department at YSL under Pilati. Together with NG at Balenciaga really a driving force at Kering in at the time. Some very specific shoes designed for the YSL wonens shows are unmatched to this day in terms of originality (and continue to be copied by other designers)

Wouldn’t mind seeing him at Tom Ford but Armani would be even better!

 

[Lola701]

definitely more design and thought put into them than ancora guy or mcqueen guy... or jones own fendi. And with a small capsule collection, he instantly had his fendi woman for better or for worst.

I take Ancora over that Ugly Fendi collection. The Fendi collection is depressing. He didn’t get the spirit of the house at all and got stuck in his boring bourgeois intellectual things.

 

[Phuel]

I absolutely loved that long white Fendi dress that looks like a bathing suit top and slashed pleated trousers combined. That’s a strong piece right there, with a whiff of his good days at YSL. The rest can go, especially that terrible green suit (who would wear that in todays fashion landscape??) and that last cocktail dress look that makes me think of bad Dior collections from 2009-2010 (especially with that hair).

While I really liked some collections he did at Zegna and the 2007-2009 period at YSL, I’m not super convinced he would nail it the same way if he were to return today. We love things from his past while at the same time dislike what he has done in recent years at RI and Fendi. Why would he or anyone else suddenly go back creatively and continue designing things similar to something they did 15 years ago? There is a bigger chance he would make something that reflects his life and taste now (Berlin influences and all included).

Also noticed this. Sadly, upon a second glance, it resembles a sloppy knockoff of a superior design, of which is perfectly on-brand, in-tune with everything Kim touches.

…And then that horrendously, hilariously awful oversized, scrunchy neck monstrosity in pink revealed itself; like the laziest of sewing class crimes inflictions. And everything else falls into place as a cruel reminder of where Pilati is now in 2024: Very junior midrange department-store collab; H&M collabs look superior to all this Fendi mainline. Maybe a tad less miserable than a current-day Uniqlo collabs, but not by much. The casting, the modelling, the styling, the photography is so nameless midrange department-store web content standards, circa 2009. No one put in the effort at all. @lookatme posted on another thread that the design/cut/construction of these so-called bluechip brands are so bare-bones basic, pushing oversized/one-size/unisex (and I’d even add so deceptively marketed as industry-buzzwords “inclusive”/“quiet luxury’/gender-fluid”) to optimize profit while minimizing production-costs. This couldn't be any more truer as for the real reason high fashion is so low-effort nowadays.

Unlike Fendi, the Tom Ford brand still allows, still invested in, and hopefully still expects tailoring and fit. And if Pialti were to be installed at the label, I’d be wary and hope Zegna demand he’d better sharpen his tailoring/dressmaking/designing skills that’s he’s seemed long abandoned.

 

[lookatme]

^^Absolutely.

Two of my favorite collection’s of his - Fall/Winter 2005 and Spring/Summer 2006 - both closed with practically Couture level pleated, shirred, smocked and knotted evening gowns in tissue-fine chiffons, georgettes and taffetas. Total masterpieces of design and construction.

Now everything is all just two side seams and a hem. I fear that it’s not only a cost cutting effort, but also a loss in the technical know how.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ At the current trajectory, the standards are only going to sink lower and lower, until other than better materials/hardware/finishings compared to Shein, high fashion from these corporate brands will be indistinguishable from fastfashion. We can LOL at what were once simply basic standards for midrange, even consumer brands, but now gets claimed as highend/luxury/high fashion “details”, but it’s the sad truth of an industry that’s so monstrously and unashamedly greedy to the point that the reality of a working zipper is now regarded as a “luxury” detail.

When once dismissing a subpar collection as “Zara” being the ultimate insult— it’s Zara, that in many ways, setting the standard the rest are following in 2024. And when once it was principle to not buy/wear Zara, it’s now more of a reason to go with Zara rather than Fendi x Pilati— out of principle.

This business practice of minimum value for maximized pricetags is going burn the industry to the ground sooner than they think: Even decent branding will only get them so far. And frankly, good riddance.

 

[Lola701]

I wonder how Stefano claiming that he invented the first It Bag of the house of YSL, omitting The Mombasa, may influence the « Tom Ford » rumors.
Clearly, he still has an ego.
He made the brand profitable but he seems to forget that he had 3 important designers of the last 30 years who had made an impact at the house too.

 

[Creative]

^^^ At the current trajectory, the standards are only going to sink lower and lower, until other than better materials/hardware/finishings compared to Shein, high fashion from these corporate brands will be indistinguishable from fastfashion. We can LOL at what were once simply basic standards for midrange, even consumer brands, but now gets claimed as highend/luxury/high fashion “details”, but it’s the sad truth of an industry that’s so monstrously and unashamedly greedy to the point that the reality of a working zipper is now regarded as a “luxury” detail.

When once dismissing a subpar collection as “Zara” being the ultimate insult— it’s Zara, that in many ways, setting the standard the rest are following in 2024. And when once it was principle to not buy/wear Zara, it’s now more of a reason to go with Zara rather than Fendi x Pilati— out of principle.

This business practice of minimum value for maximized pricetags is going burn the industry to the ground sooner than they think: Even decent branding will only get them so far. And frankly, good riddance.

This is so true. You get a 2500€ bag for terrible quality. The industry is broken.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ “Broken” may be too optimistic, even generous a grace towards some of these corporations LOL Rotten is more accurate in how shamelessly greedy they’ve all become. A brand like Gucci is just rotten to the core: Even the horsebit signature looks cheap now. Another giant like Vuitton just relies on logos/monograms/signatures to sustain it: Strip away all that trashy embellishments and excessively obnoxious visuals, and any vaguely interesting runway design is reserved for Kpop princesses and NBA superstars, not customers. And Miuccia is just a hollow corporate shell of her former glorious Prada self now, with Raf— her very own Grima Wormtongue poisoning her brand to such coldness, blandness, lifelessness. They can all go. Maybe Pilati will usher in a new golden era at Tom Ford— or Chanel, or Armani… If it doesn’t happen… there’s someone else. We don’t need any of them.

I wonder how Stefano claiming that he invented the first It Bag of the house of YSL, omitting The Mombasa, may influence the « Tom Ford » rumors.
Clearly, he still has an ego.
He made the brand profitable but he seems to forget that he had 3 important designers of the last 30 years who had made an impact at the house too.

To this day, I never understood ego with fashion people— whether it’s designer, photographer or model. I adore fashion to this day, but it’s really so unneeded, unimportant, and straightup unnecessary; it’s not going o change the world for the greater good: History won’t care to remember any designer, photographer or model. It’s embarrassing how they’re convinced of their self-importance. If Pilati still has that ego with Random Identities, I can only imagine how much more insufferable he’s capable of should he be installed at Tom Ford. And at his age, it’s embarrassing. But frankly, if he’s able to conjure great fashion designs and summon something worthy of the glory days of the brand’s past, then I have no issue suffering such ego: I don’t have to deal with him in person, nor do I have to work for him, and nor will we ever meet. Just… make fashion great again.