Following years as the creative director at Ermenegildo Zegna Couture and YSL, Stefano Pilati has gone rogue.

Over time, we’ve learned to ignore the creative conflict inherent in each collection between designers and their brands. Designers coexist with the angel and devil on their shoulders, the brand loyalty to the left, and their undying personal vision to the right. Most of the time, the combination of the two is magical.

Magic aside, this begs the question: what is the untouched, unfiltered vision of a creative director?

These men and women occasionally step out from behind their curtains, throw caution to the wind, and expose the inner workings of their visions. Boldly, Stefano Pilati has followed suit with a teaser collection unveiled on his personal Instagram during Men’s Fashion Week.

After parting ways from Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, the designer has been untethered. Sneaking through the noise of the shows and street style commotion at Men’s Fashion Week, Pilati revealed a glimpse of a private collection for a mere 24 hours on Instagram’s ‘stories’ feature. Attendees retreated to their phones, eager to catch a glimpse of his gender fluid collection, void of seasonality, identity, and permanence.

The 17 looks are all pieces of a self-started brand called Random Identities. Featured are men and women donning ensembles whose sole consistency is a provocative darkness. No look is identifiably masculine or feminine, and instead all represent perfect androgyny.

Stefano Pilati stated the collection, “stands for freedom of behavior, engaging with an idea of experiencing fashion used to support individual choices, beyond the known gender signals.”

It has been reported that the teaser is a strategy for gauging the public’s reaction. In an interview with WWD, he described its evolution as, “something to come in the near future, something more developed.” After years of being at the helm of other brands, the seasoned designer may desire a hint of affirmation before finalizing his solo vision.

Following Pilati’s teaser, the intrigue is palpable and the possibilities are wide. We’ll just have stay tuned and keep incessantly refreshing our feeds.

Article by: Samantha Lockhart from NASENSE