While the fashion industry has been adjusting to many of the shake-ups that have put new creative directors at the forefront of famous houses like Chanel and Versace, Dolce & Gabbana’s frontman is among those who is stepping aside.
Stefano Gabbana, who co-founded the iconic brand, was revealed by Bloomberg to have stepped away from his duties as chairperson of the label. The departure was a quiet one done in December 2025, only going public this year as the brand negotiates its debts.
Domenico Dolce has tapped his brother, Alfonso, to take over the role. Gabbana’s new role is still to be revealed. Stepping in since January, Alfonso is said to be joined by Gucci’s very own Stefano Cantino.
While the brand is one of the most recognisable, the duo has struggled to keep up with the weak demand for luxury goods in the past year. It is now in talks with Rothschild & Co — who have been behind the newfound success from the likes of Unilever, De Beers and many others — to assist with solutions to their €450m (R8.70bn) debt.
While they have been favourites of the reality TV cabal Kardashians and Jenners, the brand has taken a couple of knocks over the years under the tenure of the duo, with controversies that have affected brand loyalty and sales.
In 2013 they were among a long list of designers from that decade who fell into controversies for associating with blackface when they attended an African disco-themed party, where they took snaps with a designer in the questionable makeup. This controversy re-emerged with the release of the slave sandals in 2016.
They caught the ire of the LGBTQ+ community for their views that gay couples ought to not have children, with only Domenico apologising for their comments that extended to IVF births as “Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalogue”.
Calls to boycott the brand mounted after they showed support for Melania Trump during the first year of Donald Trump’s tenure in office, with a t-shirt chain.
The brand also experienced a drop in sales after they made a promotional video for a fashion show that was set to be staged in China, with a model haphazardly eating Italian food with chopsticks.
This article was first published in TimesLive.
