Italian design duo Domencio Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are set to don black and white stripes next season after being sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion.
Prosecutors claim the designers had a sophisticated system of evading tax on income, even accusing the pair of undervaluing the sale of their company (to a Luxembourg-based holding company) in an attempt to avoid paying millions in taxes.
The luxury fashion brand has made both Domencio Dolce and Stefano Gabbana extremely rich, so much so, that the pair are featured on the Forbes World’s Billionaire List, standing at #11 in Italy, no less!
Over the years, the designers have battled financial charges and denied any wrongdoings, however in April a court ruled in favour of Italy’s tax authority and it has been reported they now risk a tax bill of more than 400 million euros (over a billion dirhams).
Stefano Gabbana took to Twitter earlier this year to express his feelings, claiming the allegations are “no true”. He has also said in the past: “All that I care about is making clothes, that’s all. Let them do and say whatever they want… To be accused of something that’s not true is not a pretty thing, but the heart of the matter is, who cares, we’ll all end up in the ground in the end.” Hear, hear!
The duo were not in court for the ruling and are yet to release a statement, however the sentence is currently suspended and they’re said to be working on an appeal.
Good luck Dolce and Gabbana, we can’t bear the thought of Milan Fashion Week without you!
