It's back, and how with the Stefano Pilati x Zara collection

Who would have thought that Zara would throw the coolest party at Paris Fashion Week? But that's what happened Thursday night at the launch of his collaboration with Stefano Pilati.

Truly a testament to the enormous respect in which Pilati is held, often considered by fashion lovers to be the best dressed man in the industry. Therefore, before anyone reviewed the collection, they surveyed Stefano first. For the record, she was wearing a voluminous black dress over baggy gray pants; White shirt with raised cuffs and characteristic silk butt.

Although the performance took place in a dark chiaroscuro setting, Pilati also wore devilish sunglasses, which one suspects are not unrelated to a recent night of clubbing in Berlin, where he resides.

Kate Moss appeared as did Giselle Bundchen, Lila Moss, Iris Law, Romeo Beckham, Rianne van Rompaey, Fabien Baron, Mario Sorrenti, Pat McGrath, Guido Palau, Luca Guadagnino, Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele, Charlotte Stockdale, Julia Nobis and Pierpaolo Piccioli . – no less.

The co-ed collection itself was perfect, worn on models who walked among the guests and clearly loved the clothes.

For girls, black crepe dresses with shiny drapes; faux fur rock goddess coats; lace-up leather boots – everyone remembered Stefano's glory days in the house of Saint Laurent.

For men, gray banker suits, but tailored for rock stars with swagger, or some big, bold coats and peacoats. Volume with élan.

Zara boss Marta Ortega Pérez and Pilati hosted the champagne cocktail to celebrate the launch of the so-called Stefano Pilati x Zara collection inside a former Treasury building on rue de la Banque. A once-gloomy space, where expat writers ominously signed income tax checks in years gone by, was suddenly transformed into a hipster hub.

Zara executives seemed quietly elated – speaking of the “universal value at the heart of Zara's approach to fashion,” that is, championing great design – at an affordable price.

After leaving YSL, Pilati has kept a low profile and has lived in a restored bus station in the German capital. It emerged in 2017 with a memorable avant-garde collection presented at Pitti. But since then, her only other runway moment was as a model: at Pharrell Williams' debut show for Vuitton in Pont Neuf.

Although when asked about his return, Pilati responded with a wry smile: “Return? I have moved forward; “It was the others who were left behind.” Hey oui.

The Stefano Pilati x Zara collection debuts worldwide on October 3, along with a campaign photographed in New York by Steven Meisel, featuring Stefano Pilati himself alongside supermodel Bündchen.