Stefano Pilati, the Italian-born designer known for his impactful work at YSL and Zegna, has been teasing a new project for some time now. His Instagram posts, a sort of “comeback tour,” showcased iconic moments from his past, hinting at something exciting on the horizon. Now, the anticipation has culminated in the reveal of a capsule collection for both men and women, designed for Zara.
Shot by the legendary Steven Meisel and featuring none other than Gisele Bündchen alongside Pilati himself, this collaboration is a visual feast. The designer’s connection with Zara goes back years, with a decade-long friendship with Marta Ortega Perez, the chair of Inditex (Zara’s parent company), leading to discussions about a potential partnership. Finally, in January, Pilati embraced the opportunity. “I said, ‘let’s do it.’ It seemed very straightforward and fun for me. It was also a different way to approach designing from what I’m doing with Random,” he said. Random Identities is Pilati’s own gender-fluid label, launched in 2017 after his tenure at Zegna.
Initially, the brief was for a men’s collection, a tribute to Pilati’s signature style. His effortless elegance and sartorial prowess have always been admired, with this website naming him one of the most stylish men in fashion back in 2016. “To me,” wrote Sally Singer at the time, “Stefano Pilati is the epitome of fearless, intuitive elegance: always intensely masculine, but those cuts, those fabrics, the tattoos, the jewellery.” The project’s scope soon expanded to include womenswear, reflecting Pilati’s innate understanding of both genders’ sartorial desires. “I’ve had many women that like the way I dress over the years,” Pilati shares. “I guess it’s the care I dedicate. Maybe men see it as an act of vanity, while women see it as, I don’t know, more familiar.”
The collection itself is a testament to Pilati’s unique vision. Expect to see his signature full trousers with exaggerated breaks, tailored black minidresses with the distinctive shoulder structure he developed at Saint Laurent, and pieces adorned with playful details like strawberries and bananas, a callback to his past collections. His style is unmistakably his own, evolving with each project, reflecting his constant exploration of fashion.
Pilati’s Zara collaboration represents a return to a larger scale in fashion, contrasting his more streamlined approach at Random Identities. “Working on Zara made me feel that perhaps I miss something that is a bit more elevated, you know, compared to what I do with Random,” Pilati admitted. “Random is economised in terms of creativity – it’s one coat, dark fabric, boom, basta. This made me feel how much I enjoy to do a collection.”
The collection, a testament to Pilati’s enduring influence and creative energy, will be available in stores and online from October 3rd. Get ready to see Pilati’s signature style reimagined for a new generation, bridging the gap between high fashion and accessible design.
