Stefano Pilati - Designer

[Creative]

Hes doing a collab with a High Street Retailer.

Its been like ages since he started that collab. I wonder when they plan to launch it. Still, from Saint Laurent to Zara…

 

[tourbillions]

I just can’t get over people over 23 wanting to party like crazy 💀 huge prejudice of mine.

I think all of this Instagram frenzy also has to do with the fact that almost everybody from his generation has been successful after their jobs in the 00s: Phoebe, Nicolas, Tom Ford, Hedi… and his name doesn’t pop up anywhere.

It’s true his recent work is extremely irrelevant and I don’t know if he can work in fashion in 2024. What he did for Fendi was terrible and had 0 hype. His last years at SL were a total bore. Agnona was meh. Idk.

I think if Anna liked him he would’ve be kind of somewhere. He was really big in the 00s… there’s been a huge amount of vacancies… I don’t know.

I wonder what KL thought of Pilati.

His agnona is what everyone is trying to be now with their quiet luxury b.s. so im not sure how that is irrelevant now.

Also... let people party as long as they want. Not like they invited you to watch them do it 🤷🏼 Besides.... its hard to be anyone in fashion if you miss these parties.

 

[ghostwriter10549]

God.. He used to be so hot

 

[Phuel]

Isn’t there already Lemaire for that? The only thing that’s presently missing at Lemaire are more formal propositions, other than that, I think he’s already doing what a Pilati-at-Armani collection would ideally look like…

Interesting take. I take it you mean Lemaire’s is the 90s-Armani x Pilati’s YSL/Agnona, and not the unholy mess that’s current-day Armani and Random Identities LOL I can see Lemaire’s womenswear being the summer lovechild of that superior Armani x Pilati, but really more the legitimate heiress of 90s-Yohji x YSL-Pilati. Lemiare’s menswear however— absolutely not: That is the unfortunate bastard of some random, generic late-80s mall fashion.

 

[Lola701]

Interesting take. I take it you mean Lemaire’s is the 90s-Armani x Pilati’s YSL/Agnona, and not the unholy mess that’s current-day Armani and Random Identities LOL I can see Lemaire’s womenswear being the summer lovechild of that superior Armani x Pilati, but really more the legitimate heiress of 90s-Yohji x YSL-Pilati. Lemiare’s menswear however— absolutely not: That is the unfortunate bastard of some random, generic late-80s mall fashion.

Lemaire is very 80’s coded to me…The very « baroudeur » look. When I see Lemaire, I think Hans Feuer shots in the desert.
Maybe Lemaire is 80’s casual Versace but I feel like Armani was a little bit more formal or put together in his approach to casual wear.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Absolutely. Armani’s-- down to his fabrication, was so unique to him and him only; whereas with Lemaire’s menswear, it’s not hard at all to get his look if you know where to look. And that’s not necessarily an awful look; I dress in that looser, cuffed pant at the ankle and sockless, with a looser/oversized parka over a tee/tank when I’m on holiday. And it’s fine seeing this aesthetic styled for a fashion story. It’s just not anywhere a particularly unique, individual or stylish sensibility as some Lemaire stans are convinced it is. And it’s a shame that his menswear has been so blatantly 80s-coded, because in his earlier menswear collections, was really… decent.

(I was scouring Yoox for some older Dries boots, and low and behold, that hideous Jeffrey Campbell platform men’s boot from Random Identities popped up. Ew... It was instantly dated from Jeffrey Campbell, even more painfully dated the moment Pilati claimed it for his label, and it’s even more of an unforgivable eyesore now. We may romanticize his past glories, but sadly the truth is he’s at a place right now where it’s best he’s not with any of the legendary houses. Love for him to prove me wrong and make me eat crow tho!)

 

[GoldenPetals]

I'm fine if I never see a collection from him ever again.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I longed wanted him as Armani’s successor but he’s faded to me. He can go to Tom Ford, I think he needs something sexy to wake him up.

 

[Darko]

I used to love his work for YSL
Like really like that era
But now he seems totally out of place
Not sure what's happened to him
Random Identities are pure joke and 100% poly hell as I saw on Yoox
But I still believe in him and still rooting for him

 

[Kanzai]

I think a Couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier would be a great warm-up to prove if he's still relevant...
Designers with vision and attitude like Pilati are so needed in this industry !

 

[blueorchid]

I remember the photo of Stefano and Karen Elson by Teller appearing in an issue of Vogue Paris, but I can't remember which issue it was. Does anyone remember?

Also, the accessories available from Random Identities have me cackling.



randomidentities

 

[eugenius]

I wonder what his recent IG posts re: his YSL days are really about.

Regardless, I'm enjoying revisiting the collections on youtube. I wasn't too crazy about his YSL then, but now, years later, I can appreciate it a lot more, and that's especially true of his menswear then.

 

[PDFSD]

He started doing fabric research for Prada around 1995, then three years later Miuccia promoted him to Miu Miu, where he designed both men's and women's collections, up until 2000, when he moved to YSL.
Rumour has it that he fell out of grace with the Prada clan because they supported him so much as to pay for his rehab, due to his heavy drugs use. Only to be thanked by him jumping ship to assist Tom Ford in Paris.

Don't forget as well........ he did the Jil Sander collection when she left the prada group :-)

 

[Lola701]

Its been like ages since he started that collab. I wonder when they plan to launch it. Still, from Saint Laurent to Zara…

I know the optics are bit weird when stated like that but I think that today, there’s more and more blur between Luxury brands and some high streets brands. When you look at what Prada can do for their Atelier collection, what Massimo Dutti, Arket, Cos can deliver, it’s almost expected for those brands that are elevating their standards to work with esteemed designers on another capacity.

Zara did a collaboration with Elie Top who used to do Jewelry for YSL and Lanvin under Alber and who has his own Haute Joaillerie collection.

I longed wanted him as Armani’s successor but he’s faded to me. He can go to Tom Ford, I think he needs something sexy to wake him up.

As crazy as it sounds (even for me), I had it in mind…Mostly because he has a good relationship with the Zegna group and he is a fantastic menswear designer.
I hoped that Berlin and the scene he has been around allowed him to infuse more sensuality and an easiness in his womenswear but looking at his Fendi collection, it seems like no!

And then I remember that while he has good relationships with Zegna and Domenico De Sole, he has done that interview years ago when he was feeling himself where he said that Tom wasn’t gifted despite recognizing, when he was fired, that Tom gave him a great confidence by giving him high responsibility at YSL.

Don't forget as well........ he did the Jil Sander collection when she left the prada group :-)

Stefano was already at YSL when Jil left. It was Milan, another Tom Ford alumni, who took over when she left the first time.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I never quite got the appeal people found in Stefano Pilati’s personal style, that quintessentially Pitti Uomo ‘bad boy in a suit’ look where tattoos clash with a dapper, quintessentially Italian tailoring style always felt quite corny to me. But I get that, celebrities like David Beckham’s style evolved in that direction and there were people like Justin O’Shea and Nick Wooster (among Stefano Pilati himself) who famously made it into all the street style blogs during the early 2000s with this particular image.

When I look at Lemaire and specifically Christophe’s personal way of dressing, it’s coming from a different place despite the fact it occasionally features similarly loose cuts. The way his clothes fit and feel is a natural continuation from Yohji much in the way that Helmut Lang was the predecessor of Hedi Slimane’s Dior Homme. At Uniqlo U, Lemaire works with pattern cutters who worked at Yohji Yamamoto inc. - What few people seem to know is that Christophe is as passionate about music as Hedi and Ann, which is why there is always a bit of a New Wave attitude vaguely influencing the menswear (and by extension, his personal style). Anyway, I think he and his wife Sarah Linh exude that effortless, nonchalant elegance we associate with truely Parisian style where Pilati always felt a bit show-off to me (and let me tell you, having met him several times in Berlin, he has a very unsympathetic, self-important air about him…). Whatever he wants to express with Random Identities feels tired, contrived, and devoid of aspiration and joy. I’m not surprised it never took off.

 

[Lola701]

^^
Tbh, when he was in Paris, Stefano had a terrific style.
Maybe it was the fact that he lived near the Élysée but it was stunning.
He had a dapper version of his style, quite gentlemen farmer similar to Thomas Lenthal but then it evolved into something more relaxed, hard edged.

I really loved his style for men. I’m not such a fan of the way he dresses now (maybe because now he is more conscious of that and makes an effort when back then it was natural and a total extension of his style).

The Lemaire look is very « Prof de Français de Gauche ». In fact, the Lemaire aesthetic is quite similar to what Isabel Marant and Jerome Dreyfuss aesthetic were 20 years ago, before Emmanuelle Alt.

I love the Lemaire total look on Asians but I think it can sometimes look a bit cliche on a French person.

 

[MulletProof]

I used to love Isabel Marant before Alt.. it was so lovely and there was a lightness to it that has, imo, no relation whatsoever to Lemaire. I don’t see Lemaire as 80s/Hans Feuer at all either.. that’s more Samuel Drira’s territory..

 

[Creative]

His agnona is what everyone is trying to be now with their quiet luxury b.s. so im not sure how that is irrelevant now.

Also... let people party as long as they want. Not like they invited you to watch them do it 🤷🏼 Besides.... it’s hard to be anyone in fashion if you miss these parties.

Lmao, when did I not let him party? Stop being ridiculous

His Agnona was irrelevant, so irrelevant that after two years they let him go and turnover drop almost 40%.

 

[Creative]

I know the optics are bit weird when stated like that but I think that today, there’s more and more blur between Luxury brands and some high streets brands. When you look at what Prada can do for their Atelier collection, what Massimo Dutti, Arket, Cos can deliver, it’s almost expected for those brands that are elevating their standards to work with esteemed designers on another capacity.

Zara did a collaboration with Elie Top who used to do Jewelry for YSL and Lanvin under Alber and who has his own Haute Joaillerie collection.

As crazy as it sounds (even for me), I had it in mind…Mostly because he has a good relationship with the Zegna group and he is a fantastic menswear designer.
I hoped that Berlin and the scene he has been around allowed him to infuse more sensuality and an easiness in his womenswear but looking at his Fendi collection, it seems like no!

And then I remember that while he has good relationships with Zegna and Domenico De Sole, he has done that interview years ago when he was feeling himself where he said that Tom wasn’t gifted despite recognizing, when he was fired, that Tom gave him a great confidence by giving him high responsibility at YSL.

Stefano was already at YSL when Jil left. It was Milan, another Tom Ford alumni, who took over when she left the first time.

Yes, Zara is working with very renowned people, Karl Templer among them. But still, it’s just good money. I don’t think a designer of Pilati’s caliber would be excited to work for Zara, and especially considering what a big ego he has.

There’s nothing exciting about working for Zara. Yes, they would say it’s interesting to design for “everybody”, but I don’t believe it.

 

[helmutnotdead]

lol leave Stefano alone!