Gucci’s Tom Ford: Will He Stay or Has He Gone?

Now that Gucci’s Tom Ford has officially taken over the design responsibilities at Yves Saint Laurent’s women’s ready-to-wear, speculation has resurfaced regarding his design post at Gucci.

On Thursday, a Gucci spokesman denied a report on the Internet news service Fashion Wire Daily (https://www.fashionwiredaily.com) that the company had hired Miu Miu senior designer Stefano Pilati to direct design at Gucci. Miu Miu is Prada’s secondary collection.

The report followed Thursday’s news that YSL women’s ready-to-wear designer Alber Elbaz was leaving his post, making the fall 2000 collection that he showed on Monday in Paris his last. Talk of a possible departure by Elbaz has fed the rumor mill since Gucci bought YSL nearly two months ago. Unconfirmed reports have also said that YSL’s menswear designer, Hedi Slimane, was leaving his position as well.

Ford, as the creative director for the Gucci Group (which includes Gucci, YSL and other brands), “will retain direct responsibility for all products and image for Gucci brand,” said a statement released Thursday.

Several names had been circulating as potential replacements for Ford, had he left Gucci: Jeremy Scott, an iconoclastic Paris-based designer from Kansas City, Mo.; Givenchy’s Alexander McQueen; and until she recently renewed her contract at Chloe, Stella McCartney.

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Clothes the Deal, a Los Angeles nonprofit organization that helps unemployed men and women return to the workplace, has partnered with Nissan North America in a clothing drive called “Retire Your Attire.”

Clothes the Deal believes that if you’re going to start a new job, you’re going to need a wardrobe. So the charity is asking for suits, shirts, dresses, ties, coats, briefcases, even accessories.

The donation drive runs through March 16. Drop-off sites are in place at Los Angeles City Hall and the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration. For information, call Jennifer Reese at (323) 857-9100.

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The Hollywood Entertainment Museum will host a “Model’s Boot Camp” for aspiring models March 11 from 1-5 p.m. Fashion photographer Ike Solomon, former model Jean Marshall and makeup artist and image consultant Barbara Layne will lead the seminar.

Modeling is a hard career to break into, and there are lots of unscrupulous and unqualified promoters out there. The seminar costs $7.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and students and $4 for children 5 to 12. For information and reservations, call the museum at (323) 960-4833.