Stefano Pilati is named creative director of Ermenegildo Zegna

Back to Milan ... The Italian designer for Ermenegildo Zegna & women's luxury brand Agnona

In March 2012, the Italian designer stepped down as creative director at Yves Saint Laurent after spending more than a decade as head of design in Paris. 

YSL A/W 2012 - the last collection by Stefano Pilati

This year has been called the musical chairs of designers, wondering where all these greats are going, after Raf Simons joined Dior, and  he was the only left and everyone was pondering on where he would go, until a few days ago when WWD confirmed that he as appointed as head designer and creative director one of the most established Italian brands in the world, Ermenegildo Zegna. 

He will not only take over the design of Ermenegildo Zegna but also of the women's luxury brand of ready-to-wear and accessories Agnona. The Men's couture collection will also be in the hands of talented Pilati. 

A/W 2012 men's YSL collection by Stefano Pilato

He career started in the 1993, assisting in designing for the men's collection at Armani and and the same time he started designing for the women's collections at Prada and Miu Miu. In 2000 he joined YSL as second in command to then creative director Tom Ford, until he took the reigns in 2004. 

Although his collections divided critics, he boosted profits for YSL and established the brand further. One of his most iconic pieces which he designed, is the Cabas Chyc bag, with the 'Y' logo in gold, a bag which was seen on everyones arm. 

The group Ermenegildo Zegna CEO, Gildo Zegna, said “I’m thrilled to have Stefano in our group as he brings great talent, invaluable experience and enormous enthusiasm,”, he continued “We have ambitious plans for Agnona, and we strongly believe that under his creative leadership we will be able to develop this little jewel into a global brand.”

As my interest for men's attire and styling grows, I cannot wait to see his first men's collection for the men's couture line and the women's ready-to-wear for Agnona. Speculation is that his debut collection will be at Milan Fashion Week in June 2013 for the S/S 2014 men's collections ... a long, long wait, but in the meantime, he will start overseeing the brand's collection in January 2013. 

Laura