Gabbana resigns as chairman

Stefano Gabbana is no longer the chairman of Dolce & Gabbana, but he is still designing the clothes. The company said on April 10 that his resignation from oversight roles took effect on January 1, and that his creative work continues. (apnews.com) That means the split is between boardroom power and studio power. Gabbana is stepping away from the legal and governance side while staying in the part of the business that chooses silhouettes, fabrics, and runway collections. (wwd.com) The timing was quieter than the headlines make it sound. Corporate filings cited by multiple outlets show he stepped down in December 2025, with the change effective at the start of 2026, and the news only surfaced publicly this week. (bloomberg.com) (abcnews.com) The chair job did not go outside the family. Alfonso Dolce, the brother of co-founder Domenico Dolce and the company’s chief executive, was named chairman in January, according to filings with the Milan chamber of commerce. (abcnews.com) Dolce & Gabbana has been run for decades as a tightly controlled private company, which makes any internal power shift more revealing than it would be at a widely held public brand. Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce founded the house in 1985 and built it around a two-designer identity that was also a business partnership. (vanityfair.com) (apnews.com) The backdrop is money, not hemlines. Bloomberg reported that the company is negotiating with lenders over a broader refinancing tied to about 450 million euros in debt, with banks discussing up to 150 million euros in new funding. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) That helps explain why a founder might keep the sketchbook and leave the signatures. Bloomberg also reported that Gabbana is considering options for his 40 percent stake as the company heads into talks with bank lenders. (bloomberg.com) The business itself has not been shrinking in a simple straight line. Reuters reported last year that Dolce & Gabbana’s revenue rose while its operating loss widened after heavier spending on stores and on bringing its beauty division in-house. (finance.yahoo.com) So the picture now is a fashion house trying to separate image from administration without breaking either one. The runway face remains Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, while the balance-sheet fight is moving toward Alfonso Dolce and the lenders. (apnews.com) (cnbc.com)