Dolce & Gabbana designer dramatically quits fashion house he set up 40 years ago – with his stake worth an estimated £1.5billion

Spaghetti and bolognese, bruschetta and pomodoro…some pairings are as famously Italian as the Sistine Chapel.

Dolce & Gabbana is one such pair – two friends and business partners who have been at the pinnacle of Italian fashion since launching their ready-to-wear label in 1985.

But now, fashion’s most famous double act is no more. 

Stefano Gabbana, 63, has announced that he is resigning his position after 40 years and is mulling over selling his 40 per cent stake, estimated to be worth a cool £1.5billion.

The industry has been left baffled – particularly as he claimed in 2018 that the pair had refused every offer to sell the label and planned for it to ‘die with them.’

Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, 67, have amassed billion-dollar fortunes thanks to their distinctive design aesthetic, which blends baroque motifs and religious iconography with old-school Hollywood glamour. 

The label’s ‘molto sexy’ take on Italian style is a red-carpet favourite worn by actresses including Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz and Jennifer Lopez.

They have also designed stage costumes for Beyonce, Rihanna, Ariana Grande and Kylie Minogue, as well as Madonna, whose relationship with the house spans 40 years. 

Singer Beyonce pictured in a Dolce & Gabbana gold bodice design at the Atlantis The Royal Grand Reveal Weekend in Dubai 

Actress Penelope Cruz (pictured) donned a Dolce & Gabbana design at the 2024 WSJ Innovators Awards at Museum of Modern Art in New York

Last month she was a surprise guest at Dolce & Gabbana’s autumn/winter womenswear show in Milan. 

While Gabbana’s exit is unexpected, it’s not the first time the duo has shocked the industry. 

They came under fire for racism – cancelling a show in Shanghai in 2018 after a D&G ad showing a Chinese woman eating spaghetti with chopsticks was deemed offensive.

In 2015, Gabbana criticised same-sex parenthood and the creation of what he described as ‘chemical children’, leading Elton John to urge customers to boycott the brand.

In 2017, there were further calls to snub the label after it dressed Melania Trump ahead of the inauguration of her husband, an unpopular figure for many in fashion.

Gabbana responded by putting the slogan ‘Boycott’ on £180 T-shirts. 

Corporate filings reveal that Gabbana resigned as chairman last December, but his departure is only now coming to light as D&G enters a critical financial crossroads.

Like many luxury brands, the privately-owned house is grappling with challenging market conditions. According to the finance website Bloomberg, it is in the midst of a £392million debt negotiation, despite an injection of £130million last year.

While Gabbana has resigned as chairman, Vogue has reported that he won’t entirely cease his creative activities.

Nevertheless, his unexplained departure is the latest in a series of seismic changes for luxury Italian fashion, already rocked by the deaths of Giorgio Armani in September 2025 and Valentino this January.

Whether Dolce will be sweet enough without Gabbana remains to be seen.