Stefano Pilati has no regrets about leaving Yves Saint Laurent.

The designer - who joined YSL as design director in 2000 after stints at Giorgio Armani, Prada and Miu Miu, and took over from the then-creative director Tom Ford in 2004 - parted ways with the company earlier this month and was replaced by Hedi Slimane but says he is content with how things have worked out.

"I am really good. I am really happy, which is something very unusual for me in a sense that I never believed that it could have been possible to feel happy, at least under these kinds of circumstances. It's pretty beautiful what happened to me. I found myself working and being supported and encouraged by amazing people I always admired and still admire. I found myself at the end of this chapter and don't regret one minute. I find myself with this amazing experience. I want to use it for something that makes me feel that I am part of this moment and that helps me to continue."

Although he has not yet announced his future plans, Stefano insists he will return to fashion: "Unless I decide to stay on vacation for the rest of my life, I am pretty sure I have the energy and the knowledge at least to try to do something relevant, something that is part of what people need."