Stefano Pilati

Former Yves Saint Laurent creative director Stefano Pilati finally has a new gig. Starting Jan. 1, the designer will head to Ermenegildo Zegna, where he will serve not just as head of design for the brand's menswear line, but also as creative director for Agnona, the house's secondary women's ready-to-wear and accessories line.

"With this appointment, we will be able to combine our tradition in tailoring and our leadership in innovative materials with a new vision for men’s fashion," said Gildo Zegna, CEO of Zegna Group. "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."

Pilati had been head designer at YSL since 2004; his Fall 2012 collection, shown in Paris last March, was his last for that label. His first collections for Ermenegildo Zegna and Agnona will be shown in June 2013.

>> What's next for ousted Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati? For the moment, he's not planning to jump back into the fray — or to do anything else for that matter.

Pilati told the audience that assembled to listen to him talk at the French Institute Alliance Française Tuesday night that after decades of being in the fashion industry, he's not exactly chomping at the bit to create more clothes. "I started to work in fashion at a really early age, and somehow leaving Saint Laurent ended a chapter, a career I started almost 30 years ago," he said. "For some reason, I realized I haven't planned any move."

That reason could be a number of things — Pilati ran through his entire history in the fashion business, having worked in retail and as a stylist before hitting it big as a designer for Miu Miu and YSL. Fashion writer Jim Chi quoted Pilati in a tweet as saying that "it's pretty beautiful what's happened to me," referring to being replaced by former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane a few weeks ago. "I'm really happy, which is something I never believed I could be under these circumstances," he said. And while Pilati might not be sure what his future circumstances will be, he was more than happy to talk about his past.

On making YSL profitable with the addition of accessories: "I lived the business aspect of fashion since day one . . . It's not something that for me was like, 'What do you mean? I am a creator! Who cares if you can sell it?' No way . . . I put aside my ego, I put aside my freedom, and I worked hard to respond to what the market was asking for . . . You design something and you want every single woman or man to wear it. You know that they're going to pay for it, so you're going to get some money somewhere. Maybe it's my education, but I never thought, 'I hope nobody gets this except for me.'"

On leading YSL after Saint Laurent's death in 2008: "A lot of people started to ask me, 'Do you feel something has changed?' or 'Is it going to change for you now that he's not alive anymore?' At first, I said, 'No, I don't think so, why?' I've always tried to do my best, but in fact it had changed. I could really feel the fact that his physical presence wasn't there anymore. In a way it gave me a sense of freedom."

On how young people should approach working in fashion: "Don't lose your passion, be true to yourself . . . Go to work as soon as you can . . . Do any job in fashion. No matter what. I've been a salesperson in a shop. I've been an assistant, a stylist, done internships . . . I knew that I wanted to work in fashion. That for me was the same thing, to be a fashion designer came up, but you have to try many things."

>> It's official. Yves Saint Laurent has named Hedi Slimane its new creative director, effective immediately. In a statement released earlier today, the company said that Slimane will "assume total creative responsibility" at the house, but will also continue to pursue his career in photography. "Hedi Slimane's exceptional talent and understanding of the spirit of Yves Saint Laurent heralds a promising new chapter in the story of the maison," CEO Paul Deneve said. Slimane's first outing for the label will be the Resort collection, presented in June.

The sentiment was echoed by PPR Chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault. "As one of the most important French fashion houses, Yves Saint Laurent today possesses formidable potential, which I am confident will be successfully harnessed and revealed through the vision of Hedi Slimane."

Slimane replaces Stefano Pilati, whose contract with the house ended Monday after a successful — if sometimes rocky — eight years.

>> The designer shakeups continue: YSL has announced the departure of creative director Stefano Pilati.

"We are all at Yves Saint Laurent grateful to Stefano for his important achievements in advancing the mission and success of this historic and treasured fashion house," YSL's CEO, Paul Deneve, said in a statement.

Pilati has been head designer at YSL since 2004. His Fall 2012 collection, which will be shown in Paris on March 5, will be his last outing for the label.

Despite Pilati's somewhat turbulent tenure at YSL, the label has shown marked growth under Pilati's leadership, especially in accessories. "Pilati has been instrumental in the rebuilding and repositioning of an iconic French luxury brand. Under Stefano’s guiding vision and artistic direction, the house has become a contemporary reference in high fashion," the statement acknowledged.

YSL has declined to comment on who will replace Pilati at the creative helm. However, several sources this past weekend — including WWD — have reported that former Dior Homme designer, Heidi Slimane, is poised to take over.

"I wish the maison Yves Saint Laurent and its new creative director the very best for the future," Pilati told WWD. “I exit the house with fierce conviction in all that we have achieved and deep gratitude to those who have supported me along the way. "

>> Tilda Swinton has played muse for Viktor & Rolf and Haider Ackermann — she met both, as well as Alber Elbaz, Stefano Pilati, Phoebe Philo, and Raf Simons (who designed her wardrobe for the 2010 film I Am Love) — through her close friend Jerry Stafford, the creative director of a French production company, who she works with in place of a stylist. “He’s my playmate,” she says. “It’s a game, and we have great fun with it.”

Swinton cites David Bowie and her father, Major General Sir John Swinton, as her style icons, and says of working with friends on what she wears for the red carpet: “For someone to know what you need to make you comfortable, they need to know who you are. Having them make clothes for me is like being cooked for by someone who knows what you like to eat.”

For the one-sleeve black Lanvin sheath she wore to the 2008 Oscars, for instance, she told Elbaz she wanted “to attract as little attention as possible and to feel as comfortable as if I were wearing pajamas. Little did I know that the really simple, chic dress one might have worn in Paris or Berlin would stick out like a sore thumb in Los Angeles.”

Stafford also creative directed Swinton's cover story for the August 2011 issue of W (left) — together they created a mood board for the shoot.