Former YSL No. 2 Expected To Head Gucci Design

Yves Saint Laurent’s former number two, Stefano Pilati, is expected to be appointed head designer of Gucci this week to replace Tom Ford who is leaving after an ugly dispute with the company owners and board.

Ford publicly accused Serge Weinberg, chief executive of Gucci owner PPR (Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), of wanting to control the leather goods concern that he and his business partner, Domenico De Sole, who served as CEO, had rescued from bankruptcy and built into a $3.2 billion company.

Ford and De Sole announced in November that they had failed to reach agreement on renewing their contracts with PPR and would leave at the end of April.

Gucci is to be managed as a brand by three of Ford’s team: Alessandra Fachinetti for women’s ready-to-wear, John Ray for men’s wear and Alfreda Giannini for the all-important accessories.

Gucci Group is the third-biggest luxury goods group after France's LVMH and Swiss company Richemont.

Ford rose through the fashion ranks swiftly and anonymously before exploding into the public consciousness in 1995 with a Gucci collection that caught the eyes of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In less than a year, the label zoomed from has-been to must-have, with the notoriously perfectionist Ford controlling everything from packaging to advertising campaigns. Five years later, he also took over at Saint Laurent.

Ford has said he wanted a break, with reports saying he may try his luck as a film director.