Despite the headlines, Stefano Gabbana hasn’t quit the brand he co-founded in 1985. Dolce & Gabbana, the label built on a Mediterranean fantasy of sun-soaked excess, overstyled masculinity, ornamental women, and money smoothing out the awkward bits. He stepped down as chairman, dramatic wording for what is mostly fewer meetings, a steady 40% stake, and definitely not an exit.
“As part of a natural evolution of its organizational structure and governance, the Dolce & Gabbana Group confirms that Stefano Gabbana has tendered his resignation, effective as of 1 January 2026, from his positions within Dolce & Gabbana Holding Srl, Dolce & Gabbana Trademarks Srl, and Dolce & Gabbana Srl,” as the company put it on Friday. The change is part of an internal reshuffle, with Domenico Dolce’s brother and chief executive, Alfonso Dolce, ending up in the chair. Talks with banks over nearly €450m in debt are being handled with help from Rothschild & Co, after a temporary waiver kept things moving. Gabbana is said to be reviewing his 40% stake, while former Gucci CEO Stefano Cantino enters management as part of the ongoing restructure. Which, honestly, is not where things get interesting.
Money might not be their trump card, but Dolce & Gabbana has never struggled with consistency when it comes to a notorious public image. Off the top of my head, I go back two decades, when a Spring/Summer 2007 ad had an uncomfortable woman pinned down to the ground while a group of men gathered around, sexual violence, repackaged as fashion at the headquarters. Not everyone bought it, governments, thankfully, weren’t impressed. In 2015, the duo referred to IVF babies as “synthetic babies”, while throwing in comments against queer marriages. A year later, Spring/Summer 2016 introduced the “slave sandals,” that quickly became the “decorative flat sandals in napa leather with pompoms.” And then there’s 2018, no shortage of material there either. A Shanghai campaign showed a Chinese model awkwardly eating Italian food with chopsticks, which didn’t exactly land as cultural appreciation. After the backlash, leaked DMs had Gabbana comparing China to a poop emoji, quickly followed by the hacked account excuse. Might’ve been the same one that called Selena Gomez openly “ugly” on Instagram earlier that year. If anything, it’s been consistent.
