Stefano Gabbana

Stefano Gabbana (; born 14 November 1962) is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur and the co-founder of the luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.

Early life Stefano Gabbana was born in Milan on 14 November 1962 to a family from the Veneto region. His interest in fashion began around age 15, in general for himself, particularly in designers like Fiorucci. Gabbana pursued graphic design, graduating from the Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche, in Rome.

Though Correggiari died in 2012, his impact on the young designers was profound. Gabbana, in a 2013 statement, acknowledged Correggiari's role in mentoring them, emphasizing the valuable lessons he imparted about pitfalls to avoid in the fashion industry. In March 1986, D&G launched its first collection and presented its own show titled "Real Women."

D&G's repertoire expanded, unveiling lingerie and beachwear in 1989, followed by menswear in 1990. Their global presence solidified with fashion shows in Tokyo and New York in 1989 and 1990, respectively. In November 1990, D&G inaugurated its New York City showroom at 532 Broadway in SoHo, Manhattan. The brand released its first fragrance, Dolce & Gabbana Parfum, in October 1992. By 1995, the brand secured an agreement to produce and distribute Marcolin's eyewear and sunglasses.

The D&G product line expanded to include various accessories such as ties, belts, handbags, sunglasses, watches, and footwear. By 2003, the company had overtaken Armani, Gucci, Prada, and Versace in terms of product sales within Italy. In 2009, nearly a quarter-century after its establishment, D&G operated 113 stores and 21 factory outlets, employed a staff of 3,500 individuals, and achieved an annual turnover exceeding €1 billion. In June of that year, Gabbana and Dolce announced they will collaborate with Havaianas to venture into making a sandal collection featuring signature prints like zebra, leopard, majolica-glazed pottery, and Sicilian cart patterns, crafted in a luxurious printed velvet finish.

Gabbana announced his retirement as chair in April 2026, but stated that he would remain with the company in a creative role.

Personal life

Gabbana and Dolce publicly disclosed their relationship in 1999.

As of April 2024, Forbes estimates Stefano Gabbana's net worth to be around US$2.1 billion.

IVF position

In March 2015, singer-songwriter Elton John called for a boycott of the D&G brand after Dolce referred to babies born through in vitro fertilization as "chemistry children and synthetic children" in an interview. This sparked a war of words, with Gabbana later calling John a "fascist" and calling for a counter-boycott. However, he later clarified that his views on IVF were separate from that of Dolce. When asked on CNN whether he supported IVF, he responded: "Yeah, I don't have anything bad (to say), because the beauty of the world is freedom" and "We love gay couple. We are gay. We love gay couple. We love gay adoption. We love everything. It's just an express of my private point of view."

China-related comments on Instagram On 21 November 2018, Gabbana was publicly exposed on Instagram for making racist comments regarding China, including "China ignorant dirty smelling mafia" and calling China "a shitty country". The Shanghai D&G Great Show 2018 was cancelled because of the commercials and his comments. Dolce & Gabbana said the account was hacked and it loved China and its culture. On 1 December, Dolce & Gabbana deleted the apology video on Weibo.

Advocacy and philanthropy Gabbana is a staunch advocate for preserving Italian craftsmanship. As part of their involvement, they created a special doll that was auctioned to raise funds for the event. Previously, they produced mini versions of their popular designs for a UNICEF charity project. Dolce & Gabbana provided financial support for study coordinated by Prof. Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas and emeritus Professor of Humanitas University which aims to form the basis for developing diagnostic tools, such as biomarkers of the severity of the pathology, and therapeutic tools to help battle the strain of coronavirus.

Later in the same year, Dolce & Gabbana launched another campaign, the Devotion bag, with a portion of the proceeds dedicated to funding the second phase of research at Humanitas University. The research focused on vaccine development in the fight against COVID-19.

Honours

Gabbana and Dolce have received numerous recognitions for their contributions to the fashion industry and culture. They were awarded the International Woolmark Prize in 1991. In 1993, their fragrance Dolce & Gabbana Parfum was named Best Fragrance of the Year. In 2014 as well, Gabbana and Dolce, together with Baz Luhrmann, were honored by La Fondazione NY, a charity supporting young Italian and American artists, during its awards gala in New York City.

Film and television

Gabbana appears in the 2013 documentary, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's, which explored the fashion industry. He made a cameo appearance in Woody Allen's film To Rome with Love in 2012, and served as a presenter at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2002. Gabbana also had a role in Giuseppe Tornatore's 1995 movie The Star Maker (L'Uomo delle stelle in Italian).