Much ado has been made over Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana's tax evasion sentence, issued yesterday by a judge in Milan, which includes a 20-month stint in jail. But even if their lawyers were to let the decision stand (which they won't without a fight — they've already vowed to appeal it), the designers probably won't actually go to prison at all, and neither will any of their four colleagues also found guilty. In Italy, most criminals don't have to serve prison terms of under two years; the ruling appears to function more like a suspended sentence, meaning they'll only go to jail if they run afoul of the law again.
The designers and their colleagues will, however, have to pay a fine if this ruling stands — €500,000 (about $668,650). But this is peanuts compared to the €400 million (about $535 million) that they were also ordered to pay the Italian Revenue Service in March.
Meanwhile, Dolce & Gabbana's lawyers won't be able to file an appeal for several months, according to WWD, because in true Italian tradition, the court is entitled to a 140-day summer break. This gives the designers time to produce several collections swoon-worthy enough to make everyone forget about this unsightly mess — not that either of them have set foot in court these past few months, of course.
Read more posts by Charlotte Cowles
Filed Under:
dolce & gabbana
,domenico dolce
,stefano gabbana
,designers
,taxes shmaxes
,fashion
,fame
,legal troubles