He became a legendary name for women: Who is Stefano Pilati?

When he reached the age of choosing a profession, he was thinking of becoming an architect. However, the stylish women in his family and the fashion trend of the period must have swayed him, so he decided to enter the fashion industry.

He was born in Milan during the years when the economy was booming in Italy. At the age of five, he warned his mother, "Don't buy me clothes from now on without my approval." And he never wore anything in his life that he didn't choose himself. While everyone admired rock stars in the 80s, he was a Giorgio Armani fan. He was even willing to be a doorman and clean toilets in order to become a fashion designer. He started working as a temporary worker in fashion shows. Sometimes he was shedding light, sometimes he was working backstage, sometimes he was showing seats. He met Ninna Cerrutti at a fashion show and started working with her. He found a job at Armani in 1993. He was transferred to Prada Group 18 months later. He worked for Miu Miu and Jil Sander for 5 years. And one day, the legendary man Tom Ford called. "Will you work with me?" he asked. Was it possible to say no? When Ford left Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci in 2004, they made Pilati the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent.

Stefano Pilati (born December 10, 1965 in Milan) is an Italian fashion designer. In 2017 he founded Random Identities, a ready-to-wear brand. From 2004 until 2012, Pilati was the head designer of Yves Saint Laurent. In late 2012 he left YSL to be head of design at Ermenegildo Zegna, where he was responsible for the Italian house's couture collections until February 2016. In tandem with that position, he also headed Zegna's Agnona brand (women's apparel) until July 2015. In 2023, Pilati was selected by Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi to design a collection for Fendi.

Pilati replaced the architect Tom Ford, who was the head of the brand at the time, and conquered Yves Saint Laurent's era, full of sex and nudity, with elegance and modernity. Thus, he brought beautiful, comfortable, and modern collections to the fashion house, which was actually expected by stylish 'Parisian' women.

Pilati also introduced some innovations at Yves Saint Laurent. The most important of these is publishing videos of fashion shows on the internet. In fact, while introducing his men's collection, he gave up holding a fashion show altogether and exhibited the collection on the internet, and for this purpose, he made a short film starring British actor Simon Woods.

We were all surprised when we heard about his decision to leave the brand in 2012, after many years with him. Months later, when we learned that Ermenegildo was the creative director of Zegna and Agnona, another brand of the group, our surprise gave way to curiosity.

We eagerly awaited what Pilati, who has become a legendary name, especially for women at Yves Saint Laurent for years, would do this time in a brand known for its traditionalism, collaborating with a designer for the first time and offering entirely men's designs.

Pilati is the child of a very ordinary family. His mother is a housewife and his father is a civil servant. His father resigned from his father's duty 25 years ago and they never met again. He doesn't remember a single person who supported him becoming a fashion designer: "Both my mother and father believed that a fashion designer would eventually become homosexual and drug addict," he says. He didn't prove them wrong: He was a heroin addict until 12 years ago. He got rid of this disease after receiving treatment for a long time at an important rehabilitation clinic in Canada.

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STEFANO PILATI IS READY TO REWRITE THE DRESS CODES
https://usa.10magazine.com/stefano-pilati-interview/