Hedi Slimane at YSL?

Hedi Slimane Replacing Stefano Pilati at YSL?

By now you've heard the oft-revived rumor that Stefano Pilati is on the outs with YSL. We started hearing it again before New York Fashion Week and of course it reminded us of our own posts on the subject exactly one Fashion Week ago, in which we detailed the various chain reactions that could take place if the rumor turned out to be true.

Well, our sources are now telling us that, after interviewing everyone from Raf Simons to Olivier Theyskens, YSL execs have indeed found a replacement for Stefano, whose fall 2011 collection will be his last, and it's someone who's already spent time at YSL, before he made his name at Dior Homme: Hedi Slimane. The others mostly likely turned down the job because of Pierre Berge's control-freakish ways, but Pierre and Hedi are old friends. So there you go, the dénouement to the rumors, tied with a bow. But of course nothing is final until the announcement is made.

So why have YSL execs been shopping the position around? Because, say our sources, sales have not just been poor; they're almost nonexistent. And former CEO Valerie Hermann (who we're told didn't just leave her post last week, as reported, but was let go) apparently was a contributing factor. As for that three-year contract Stefano recently signed at YSL? Say our sources: "Contracts are made to be broken."

Here's more juiciness. If Carine Roitfeld doesn't launch Harper's Bazaar in France, she'll most likely work with Hedi at YSL, probably in a consulting capacity.

So where does this leave Stefano? Where will he go? First, don't worry, because he's talented and beloved. And while it may seem like a long shot, consider the possibility that he'd go to Armani, perhaps the plummiest of all jobs. Only when the time is right, of course. --- courtesy of www.hintmag.com