TFS forum members wept bitter tears when Stefano Pilati was dismissed from his job at Yves Saint Laurent in February 2012… and when they saw his successor Hedi Slimane’s collection for the now renamed Saint Laurent Paris. After two seasons where Pilati remained out of the spotlight, he has now made his return as creative director at Italian menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna, showing a safe, but wonderful, collection during Menswear Spring 2014 Fashion Week in Milan. Forum members were mostly pleased with what he created for the luxury house, which has been owned by the Zegna family since its establishment in 1910.
“It may be too soon, but this collection must be one of my favourites. Those super light coats are amazing, loved the outwear so much! Really good, I’m so glad Pilati’s in charge,” commented marcBarna.
And mistress_f was also very excited by Pilati’s debut for the brand, saying, “The belted outerwear… so so good, I love it. I really like this collection, love it for the most part, and I see what Stefano is doing here, pretty much everything shown here could be easily found in his closet. This is him 100%. I guess he felt happy to be given freedom and did it his own way. I’m so happy to have him back in fashion.”
The similarity to Pilati’s own style is a valid point and something that struck me upon first viewing this collection, too. But others found that it was not only reminiscent of what the designer himself wears, they felt it was also too similar to what he did for Yves Saint Laurent. Pricciao wrote, “The black section is so much better than the rest, I think Stefano needs to work on the depth, what works for YSL is not what Zegna costumers want.”
This sentiment was not shared by GERGIN who felt that this collection was even better than Pilati’s YSL collections. “This is probably one of Stefano’s best outings for menswear he’s ever done, as much as I enjoyed his work at YSL, the styling and tailoring is much more cleaned up…of course makes sense for a brand like E. Zegna,” he said.
Cold commented, “Pilati can definitely give Zegna a new kind of attraction. In love with the lush palette and the styling. The coats are gorgeous.”
Pilati indeed triumphs with this collection, meeting everyone’s expectations and continuing to do what he does best by delivering sophisticated and desirable menswear. This is a convincing effort in every way. And VogueDisciple93 summed up nicely: “Truly an amazing collection. Pilati did what he does best, luxury. The craftsmanship and fabrics is bar none — everything looks so light, yet completely structured. I’m in awe with what he did with the suede. I also love the vertical pockets on the suit jackets. I’m so happy to have him back!”
