Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana have decided to close down their Milan stores out of protest, according to The Telegraph. All shops, including boutiques, cafes, and restaurants, were shut down yesterday—and will be out of service until Monday—with signs that read "CLOSED FOR INDIGATION" on their windows following comments made by Milan's Commerce Councillor Franco D'Alfonso.
D'Alfonso apparently called Dolce and Gabbana "tax evaders", referring to the pair's recent run-in with Italian authorities. "Italy does not need to be represented internationally by people like this," he said. He has apologized since, saying the statement was "not given in an interview, but extrapolated from an information conversation" and "certainly did not express the opinion of the administration."
But clearly, Dolce and Gabbana are not having any of it. Following D'Alfonso's comments, Gabbana tweeted, "Milan council: You're disgusting!!!" They said the decision to shut down their Milan shop is a "symbol of our disdain."
'We are no longer willing to suffer undeservedly the accusations of the financial police and the income revenue authority, attacks from public ministers and the media pillory we have already been subjected to for years,' they said in a statement.
Not surprising at all since the Italian designers have been furious about the case and the criticism over their tax eviction convictions. The two didn't attend the hearing because they believed the case didn't exist. And if you scroll through Stefano's Twitter account, you'll see photos of various stories about the tax evasion accompanied by some strong words. On July 18, he tweeted, "Vergognatevi!!! Ignoranti" along with an image of a newspaper article.
Even if you don't speak Italian, a simple search on Googe Translate will show you that Stefano and, presumably, Domenico are outraged.
We'll see what happens after D&G reopens their doors on Monday.
[via Telegraph]
