What is Stefano Gabbana's Net Worth?
Stefano Gabbana is an Italian fashion designer who has a net worth of $1.5 billion. Stefano Gabbana earned fortune and fame as the co-founder of luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. He co-founded the company with Domenico Dolce. Domenico and Stefano were in a relationship from 1982 to 2003.
One of the preeminent designer brands, it encompasses ready-to-wear garments, accessories, handbags, footwear, and cosmetics. They designed clothes Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet", and for multiple music productions including tours by Madonna, Missy Elliot, and Beyonce.
Gabbana has gotten into a variety of troubles over the years, most notably a conviction for tax evasion in 2013.
Early Life and Education
Stefano Gabbana was born on November 14, 1962 in Milan, Italy to Venetian parents. His mother worked for a laundry service and his father worked at a printing factory. As a young adult, Gabbana went to the Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche in Rome.
Dolce & Gabbana
In 1980, Gabbana met Domenico Dolce when they were designers for the fashion brand of Giorgio Correggiari. A few years later, the pair established their own design consulting studio, and in 1985, officially founded the fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. The pair went on to launch their first women's collection and make their fashion show debut during Milan Fashion Week. In 1986, Dolce & Gabbana put out their first self-produced collection. The following year, they opened their first store in Milan. The pair subsequently formed a partnership with Dolce's father Saverio, who owned a manufacturing company. This accelerated the growth of the Dolce & Gabbana brand significantly, leading to fashion shows in Tokyo and New York and several new collections, including lingerie, beachwear, and menswear lines. The company also released its first fragrance and opened its first women's boutique in Milan. Dolce & Gabbana became even more renowned in 1993 when pop music sensation Madonna chose the house to design her costumes for her Girlie Show World Tour. By the end of the 90s, revenue from the company totaled around $500 million.
Dolce & Gabbana continued collaborating with Madonna in the early 2000s, and also designed costumes for such singers as Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Kylie Minogue, and Beyoncé. In 2006, the company began designing accessories and cosmetics. Three years later, Dolce & Gabbana had achieved an annual turnover of over €1 billion. Since its inception, the company has expanded to include collections of handbags, sunglasses, watches, footwear, belts, and ties, among other luxury wearables. Dolce & Gabbana has also designed attire and uniforms for such professional football teams as A.C. Milan and Chelsea F.C.
Legal Trouble
In 2009, both Dolce and Gabbana were charged with tax evasion by the Italian government; they were accused of having moved millions of euros worth of assets to Luxembourg between 2004 and 2006. Later, in 2013, the two were found guilty of failing to declare €1 billion in income to authorities. They were consequently sentenced to 20 months each in jail. An appeal was filed, but it was overruled in April of 2014. However, later that year, the Italian Court of Justice declared Dolce and Gabbana not guilty of tax evasion.
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Controversial Comments
The Dolce & Gabbana brand drew controversy in 2015 when Dolce referred to babies born through in vitro fertilization as "synthetic children." Elton John, among others, called for a boycott of the brand, leading Gabbana to called the singer a "fascist." For his part, Gabbana attempted to distance himself from the viewpoint of his business partner.
Gabbana made his own inflammatory comments in late 2018 when he said hateful, racist things about China on Instagram; to make matters worse, Dolce & Gabbana released a series of social media videos featuring racial stereotypes. As a result, various celebrities and e-commerce sites severed ties with the brand, and a major show in Shanghai was canceled. Dolce & Gabbana later defended itself by claiming its account was hacked.
Honors and Awards
For their contributions to fashion, Dolce and Gabbana have earned a number of honors and awards over the years. The pair won their first fashion award, the International Woolmark Prize, in 1991. Five years after that, the French Parfum Academy gave them the Oscar des Parfums for having the best male perfume of 1996. In 2009, Dolce and Gabbana were given the Ambrogino Gold medal from the City of Milan.
Film Appearances
Gabbana has appeared in some films, both by himself and alongside Dolce. In 1995, he and Dolce were extras in Giuseppe Tornatore's "The Star Maker." The pair had bigger cameos in Rob Marshall's 2009 film adaptation of the musical "Nine." Gabbana went on to make an appearance in Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love" in 2012, and in the fashion documentary "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's" in 2013.
Personal Life
Gabbana, like Dolce, is openly gay. The pair dated from 1982 to 2003, and had an open relationship. They resided in a 19th-century villa in Milan, and also owned a number of properties on the French Riviera.
