No, we don’t know anything (definitive) about the rumors surrounding Stefano Pilati’s absence at last night’s Armida premiere, but suffice it to say tongues have been wagging. A longtime supporter of the Metropolitan Opera, Yves Saint Laurent was also its corporate sponsor, swathing attendees like Maggie Gyllenhaal and Big Love wives Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin in all manner of crêpe georgette and silk muslin. According to one of the press releases we received, Pilati was indeed slated to host the evening’s gala dinner, though only YSL America CEO Valérie Hermann showed, saying in her speech that he was busy in Paris working on the next collection. So while those wagging tongues are speculating that YSL’s parent company, PPR, may be looking for a successor, brand reps will have them know the designer will still be in New York for two and arguably bigger occasions: the Costume Institute Gala on May 3 and YSL’s 2011 cruise collection. We can’t imagine a YSL world sans Stefano, so we’re just going to assume everything is hunky-dory and keep dreaming of spring’s leather shorts and strawberry skirts.