Ex-YSL Designer Stefano Pilati Stages Official Fashion Comeback

It’s been nearly three years since Pilati parted ways with Ermenegildo Zegna, where he introduced a languid sensibility to the totemic Italian suiting company. At Zegna, Pilati indulged in the lofty creative esprit he could imbue into traditional men’s garments at the top of a family-owned fashion behemoth (Zegna not only sells suits under its own designation but effectively runs the market, manufacturing for Gucci, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dunhill). He did this often through sublime material experimentation, crafting textures and techniques to their subtle finest so that they were outrageously luxe while remaining indistinguishable to the unassuming. He would also employ a world record’s worth of nuanced colors, sometimes running as many as 33 distinctive hues down a single runway. Since exiting the penetralia of peak luxury, Pilati has undoubtedly set himself free of all the fuss. ”An honest statement is necessary,” read a statement from the designer. ”Fashion at high prices no longer means exclusivity. My response is to produce moderately priced clothes – the ‘low’ – and present them in a high-fashion context, creating limited edition items which by quality of design will justify the proposal – the ’high’.” Goodbye, intarsia camel fur and hand-applied floral brocades. Hello, cotton twill, satin, and nylon! Read more at Dazed.