It's been quite the week of designer musical chairs. First Raf Simons leaves Jil Sander, then Jil Sander announces her return to the fashion house she founded - and now? Stefano Pilati is to part ways with Yves Saint Laurent.
Pilati has been at the creative helm of the French fashion house since 2004 and as Yves Saint Laurent describes in its statement, "has been instrumental in the rebuilding and repositioning of an iconic brand."
Rumours that Pilati was leaving YSL first emerged last autumn, prompting the fashion house to send our a statement denying that Pilati was looking to move.
Stefano Pilati greet the audience at his Paris Fashion Week menswear show in January 2012. Photo: Getty
It's thought that Hedi Slimane might just be the man to succeed Pilati. Slimane was Dior Homme's creative director until seven years, where he famously designed the skinny silhouettes that have defined menswear in recent years, and even persuaded Karl Lagerfeld to shift all that weight so that he could wear them.
Slimane has been working as a photographer in LA since leaving Dior, but many suspect that the YSL job will tempt him back to fashion.
It remains unclear where Pilati will find his next challenge, but at the current rate of fashion job swapping, we don't think it will be too long until we find out...