Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana got themselves into a spot of trouble recently when they were found guilty of tax evasion. The nearly 350 million euros in fines and back taxes will probably put nothing bigger than a dent in their USD 5.3 billion net value, but what about jail time? Prosecutors were looking to lock them up for three years, but the judge settled on a one year and eight month-long prison sentence which is currently suspended on appeal. They’ve yet to comment on this latest turn of events at the time of writing.
This isn’t the first time this year that they’ve been in hot water: their ready-to-wear Spring ’13 collection was not without controversy, when the media took note of these particular pieces:
There was a backlash in the media regarding D&G’s depiction of black women. Most of the criticism of this collection has surfaced from media in the United States, where the images are a painful reminder of its history of slavery and slave depictions. D&G went on the defensive by claiming that the imagery was inspired by its Moor Sicilian roots, which they were paying tribute to. This has opened up dialog regarding where art ends and racism starts, which is probably another article for another day.
But for now, all that criticism has not stopped separates and dresses in the collection from being a red-carpet favorite. Young starlets like Selena Gomez and Poppy Delevigne have been photographed in the season’s pieces on the red carpet. In the music video for a single called Work, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea pairs a pair of sky-high Louboutins with this retro two-piece from the Dolce & Gabbana Spring ’13 ready-to-wear collection. Compare and contrast this with the look that Katy Perry pulled together for the Coachella music festival, where she swapped the boy shorts for a mini skirt.
A quick poll at the office showed overwhelming favor for Katy Perry, although plenty of girls at the office gave Iggy Azalea high praise for her slamming curves. What do you think? Cast your vote in the comments and let us know!
