No matter that François-Henri Pinault officially made a statement saying that Stefano Pilati is not in danger of being let go as Yves Saint Laurent’s creative director, the rumor mill has not ceased. If the designer’s Fall 2011 collection showed us one thing, however, is that it would be a huge mistake were Pilati to be let go.
The designer presented an undeniably refined collection with just the right amount of sex appeal. Unlike so many designers whose use of sheer fabrics this season has bordered on the vulgar, Pilati’s use of the fabric is nothing if not elegant. In what is possibly the best jumpsuit we’ve seen this season, the designer showed a belted white one, cropped at the ankle, with a slit at the bust, a delicate sheer fabric covering the model’s chest, and a ruffled collar – a spot-on modern interpretation of classic Yves Saint Laurent.
This season’s collection, in fact, gave multiple nods to the late Yves Saint Laurent, most notably via a take on the famed couturier’s Le Smoking tuxedo suit and a reoccurring bow motif. Further, while the plays on volume hinted at some of Ghesquiere’s work at Balenciaga, here they’ve taken on a more wearable, less editorial-minded direction that the YSL customer is very likely to embrace.
