We’ve heard this one before: this season will be Stefano Pilati’s last collection for YSL. The latest rumor comes from Kenzo’s twitter (via Racked): “Just heard BIG news about this being a certain designer at an established French house’s last season and being replaced by someone major!! CEO has just left and now the designer replaced by someone who has moved away from fashion design the last couple of yrs but stayed in fashion.”

There’s no question the tweet implicates Stefano Pilati and YSL–YSL’s CEO Valerie Hermann left her post last week. And while previous rumors that Pilati–whose tenure at YSL has been rocky to say the least–was on the outs at YSL were quashed when it was revealed that he’d recently signed a three year contract with the house, perhaps there’s some truth to this latest rumor?

As for who will replace him, our money’s on Raf Simons, or, more in line with Kenzo’s tweet (which have now been taken down, btw), Hedi Slimane.

A brief argument for each:
Raf Simons
- he delivers consistently great collections (see his last, critically acclaimed collection for Jil Sander)
- he didn’t design the last Jil Sander Navy collection (the Jil Sander design team did)
- a few months ago the Daily reported that Simons was taking meetings with PPR
- last month during Men’s Fashion Week, WWD reported that Simons “cancelled all writing appointments during Men’s Fashion Week [in Paris] and terminated his partnership with Italy’s Futurenet Group.”

Hedi Slimane
- he made Dior Homme the most coveted menswear in the world
- he worked at YSL in the late ’90s, relaunched YSL Rive Gauche Homme to critical acclaim, and has said he wants to design for women
- has “moved away from fashion design the last couple of yrs but stayed in fashion.”

Who do you think it will be?