Above the sunglasses that he never takes off, the letters stand out on the top of his forehead: “Freedom of Behavior.” Accomplished “seven or eight years ago”, the tattoo in the shape of a mantra was not intended to appear, but, since Stefano Pilati began to comb his hair back, the injunction to this “freedom to act” is visible. “People started looking at me differently. I ended up forgetting this tattoo.” says the Italian designer. This inscription on the skin which instantly provides information about his determination to create without constraint strangely accompanies his long, elegant silhouette: suede calfskin moccasins, jeans, sky blue cashmere turtleneck and in his hand his smartphone held firm with its black cigarette box .
It has been twenty-three years since Stefano Pilati, artistic director of Yves Saint Laurent between 2004 and 2012, left Italy for Paris then Berlin. “Since I left, I have perhaps only returned to Milan five times, no more. And yet, returning to it recently, I realized to what extent, ultimately, the palette of my fashion was Milanese…” Grays, blacks, browns, ecru. “I don’t really like using colors, he admits. Fashion is flashy enough not to add to it, right? »
On October 26, we will recognize his chromatic signature in Fendi boutiques, matched with tones borrowed from Rome, where the brand was founded: umbrella pine green, golden beige, touches of pink and eggplant… The rapprochement between Stefano Pilati and the British Kim Jones did not remain a secret for long: the news leaked on the fashion daily’s Instagram account Women’s Wear Daily from September 14.
Gender fluidity
Stefano Pilati knew the artistic director of Fendi’s women’s collections (also creative director of Dior Men) having met him, one evening in January 2014, in the country house in England of Kate Moss, on the occasion of the fortieth supermodel’s birthday. At the end of 2022, the Briton called him to ask him to be the next member of Friends of Fendi, a collaboration laboratory in which Donatella Versace (for a capsule called Fendace) and Marc Jacobs have already participated.
“Stefano is one of the designers I admire the most. He is an inspiration: he always looks ahead, asks questions, provides solutions,” explains Kim Jones, who, in the city, sometimes wears pieces bearing the Random Identities logo, the unisex label created by Pilati. “Silvia [Fendi, chargée des collections masculines de la maison] also wanted to work with him. » The Italian stylist immediately appreciated “the challenge of passing [sa] fashion through the filter of matriarchy”, Fendi having been developed for a long time by the women of the family.
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