Did Dolce and Gabbana demand Anna Wintour kill Vanity Fair feature on fashion duo's tax woes? Designers 'threatened to pull millions in advertising from Condé Nast'
Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana threatened to pull millions of pounds in advertising from publisher Condé Nast over a story Vanity Fair was planning to run on their tax fraud conviction, it was claimed today.
The Italian duo were reportedly so angry they allegedly rang Condé Nast artistic director and Vogue editor Anna Wintour to get her to kill the feature.Advertising revenue from Dolce and Gabbana is thought to be worth an estimated $10 million to $20 million to Condé Nast's titles, which also include Allure, Details, Condé Nast Traveler and GQ.
'Angry': Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (left) allegedly rang Conde Nast artistic director Anna Wintour (right) to get her to kill an upcoming story reportedly focusing on their tax fraud conviction in Italy
The Vanity Fair feature will focus on the duo's legal battle in Italy in which they were each given 18-month jail sentences for tax evasion, a source told Page Six.
It is believed Wintour refused their demand.
A spokesman for Vanity Fair said: 'We don’t comment on whether we are or are not working on a story.'
In May, Italy's appeals court upheld a verdict issued in June last year against the pair on charges of using Luxembourg holding company Gado to avoid paying taxes on royalties of about 1billion euros (£820million).
The pair had their sentences reduced from 20 months because of statute of limitations applied to certain facts in the case.
A fine of up to 10 million euros was also imposed over avoidance of the payments in Italy, where corporate taxes are among the highest in Europe.
Big business: The August edition of Vanity Fair (left). Advertising revenue from Dolce and Gabbana is thought to be worth an estimated $10 million to $20 million to Condé Nast's titles, which also includes Vogue .
The designers - who have always denied any wrongdoing - are appealing the decision.
Fashion companies have fallen under the scrutiny of Italy's tax authorities partly due to the fact the sector has performed well during the country's longest recession since World War Two.
Giorgio Armani paid 270 million euros to tax authorities in early April to settle a dispute over payments from the group's subsidiaries abroad.Prada Holding, which controls Prada, paid a reported 400-420 million euros to settle taxes in Italy after completing a process of voluntary disclosure in December.
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