In his first interview since showing his final collection for Yves Saint Laurent just four weeks ago, Stefano Pilati was the guest of honor at last night's Fashion Talks at the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). He sat down with Pamela Golbin, Chief Curator of the Louvre's Musée de la Mode et du Textile to chat about his career thus far and what might be next. While the two skirted around the issue of what exactly led to Pilati's somewhat sudden departure from YSL, and never mentioned his successor, Hedi Slimane, one got the impression that his time there was complicated and so is he, as a person.

Rumors swirl season upon season that Stefano Pilati is done at Yves Saint Laurent. Pilati replaced Tom Ford in the mid-aughts, and while some of his collections have been lauded, others have been slammed. What's more, Pilati is known for being a pain-in-the-rear. He's a party boy, and he doesn't like playing nice. Now the New York Post, via Fashion Wire Daily, reports that Spring 2011 might really, truly, be the end of the road for Pilati. But the collection was undeniably strong. And the shoes will certainly be a best-seller. So we think he still has more time. However, if Pilati is leaving, who will succeed him?

Before his resort show yesterday (Lauren's review to come), YSL's Stefano Pilati opened up to WWD about the criticism he's faced, particularly from bloggers. “My fashion has never tried to be editorially oriented. My research was more subtle, on the edge to the more boring,” he told WWD. He clarified that his clothes aren’t boring, just that they aren’t flashy and are best understood when worn. He also acknowledged that he wasn’t trying to be better than Yves Saint Laurent himself, and he puts the label before himself, never crediting a collection “Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent.” He addressed his critics head on: “I’m very surprised when criticism comes from a very shallow approach.” He wants his critics to tell him why they think something looks bad, rather than just saying it looks bad. This then turned into a conversation about bloggers.

Name: Kelly Age: 20 Occupation: Retail merchandise coordinator for Linea Pelle What is your favorite TV show? True Blood How would you describe your style? A mix of everything. What item of clothing are you currently obsessed with? Turbans! Where is your turban from? My mom. She finds them for me all over.