Pilati will step down from a post he has held since 2004 after showing his final YSL collection on Monday 5 March.

‘We are all at Yves Saint Laurent grateful to Stefano for his important achievements in advancing the mission and success of this historic and treasured fashion house,’ YSL CEO Paul Deneve said in a statement.

The house further thanked Pilati for ‘his extraordinary contributions’ and said it would announce a successor to Pilati ‘in the coming weeks’.

Pilati has been plagued by rumours of his impending departure for more than a year. In February 2011, a tweet from the Kenzo PR account suggested that YSL was in talks with former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane. Slimane’s name is still the one most industry insiders expect to hear when YSL announces Pilati’s replacement.

Meanwhile, today marks Jil Sander’s first day back at the label she founded in 1968. As for Raf Simons? While we’re all waiting for an announcement from , Simons must be taking a hard-earned day off...