It hasn’t been a good year for Dolce & Gabbana.
In April, the Italian fashion duo, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, were fined 343.3 million euros ($439.70 million U.S.) as restitution for allegations of evading taxes by selling their brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company that they controlled. In addition to the fines, the two were charged criminally on charges related to the same allegations.
At trial in June, the pair was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to one year and eight months in prison. The sentencing followed a lengthy inquiry into the pair’s financial affairs by Italian tax authorities, which began in 2007.
Despite support from fans, the pair have felt persecuted by Italian officials, lamenting that they are ‘being crucified like thieves.’ Their complaints followed on the heels of public statements made by Milan’s councilor for commerce, Franco D’Alfonso, suggesting that the pair would no longer be able to use any public spaces in Milano to promote their brand because it would be bad for the city’s image. D’Alfonso said about the pair:
Any time designers Dolce and Gabbana submit requests for public space, the council must keep the doors closed to them. Their fashion is seen as excellent the world over, but we do not need tax evaders to promote us.
*Wince*
Dolce and Gabbana fought back with their own public statement. Last weekend, Dolce & Gabbana closed up shop in Milan – every single one of their shops, cafes, and other branded businesses shut down for three days. On the shop windows were signs that read “CHIUSO PER INDIGNAZIONE” which translates as “CLOSED FOR INDIGNATION.”
The pair have gone on to publicly highlight their financial contributions to the city, which they note are considerable. The brand has been very lucrative for the two, who are tied on the Forbes billionaires list at #11 Italy, and #736 overall.
In a series statements which ran in a number of newspapers, the two said, simply, “We are no longer willing to suffer undeservedly the accusations of the financial police and the income revenue authority, attacks from public ministers and the media pillory we have already been subjected to for years.”
For his part, D’Alfonso subsequently issued an apology, claiming that his words were taken out of context and “certainly did not express the opinion of the administration.” But it is perhaps a little too late. The designers have indicated that they don’t feel that they can recover from the bad press and the financial hit that they’ve taken as a result of the charges. An appeal was, of course, expected but there are not high hopes that it will be decided in their favor. What then?
Domenico Dolce knows exactly what the two will do. He said: “We will close. What do you want us to do? We will close. We will not be able to deal with it. (It’s) Impossible.”
And with that, fashionistas everywhere are quietly sobbing into their designer pillows.
