The charismatic Milan-born designer Stefano Pilati ought to know a thing or two about opulence: he started his career at a velvet manufacturer before working for the likes of Valentino, Versace, Prada, Miu Miu, and currently Yves Saint Laurent as creative director.
In the A/W07 issue of AnOther Man, Pilati questioned the meaning of the word that is used to describe all of the brands he has worked for.
“The way we use the term ‘luxury’ now, everything is luxury just because of its price, it’s not luxurious anymore necessarily. I feel that we live in a period where it’s such a contradiction, because we want to be luxurious and have 300 shops all around the world, but you can’t be luxurious with 300 shops around the world. My concept of luxury has changed completely, in the sense that I distinguish something that is high-quality and luxurious as having the time to do things. The lux is having time to think – when you have time to keep in touch with yourself and grow though all of that – more than going and buying things.”
The Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective is currently on show at the Petit Palais, Paris, until 29 August.
Read more selected quotes from the AnOther archives in On the Record.