What's Next For Stefano?

Stefano Pilatihas departed Agnona, where he took the helm in 2013, but will remain as head of design with menswear label Ermenigildo Zegna. Stepping down from Agnona will leave him free to pursue other "personal projects in women's ready-to-wear," WWD reports, but might another big job be on the cards for him?

A firm friend of Kate Moss, Pilati has worked under many of the industry's biggest names, including Tom Ford (who he succeeded at Yves Saint Laurent), Miuccia Prada (with whom he worked at both Miu Miu and Prada) and Giorgio Armani. Pilati was linked with the top job at the latter brand in 2012, when he departed YSL and has since been occasionally mooted as the founder's successor, replacing him if he were to retire.

If Armani did enlist Pilati, he wouldn't be the first designer to call on a young talent with a similar aesthetic to take his brand forward. Oscar de la Renta engaged Peter Copping as his successor just before his death late last year, while Roberto Cavalli enlisted former protegee Peter Dundas to take the helm at his eponymous label in March, but Armani's current focus is on celebrating the brand´s 40th anniversary.

In terms of his Agnona departure, market sources suggest that perhaps the relationship just didn't work - with Pilati's critical and commercial success much more marked at Zegna - and that the designer's departure will allow the brand to move in a new direction. No successor has yet been named by the brand.

"The brand plans to continue to pursue its ambition to become a true global brand, founded on the quality of Italian textiles as well as on a strong, elegant and contemporary style to be shown in Milan's Fashion Week in 2016," a spokesperson told WWD. "We will reorganise the design department accordingly."