Brands
Dolce & Gabbana names former Gucci chief as co-CEO amid debt crunch
Stefano Cantino, fresh from a brief and bumpy stint at Gucci, joins the Italian fashion house as co-chief executive as it scrambles to refinance debt and reinvent itself
MILAN: Dolce & Gabbana has wasted little time filling its leadership ranks. The Italian luxury house has appointed Stefano Cantino as co-chief executive with immediate effect, pairing him with Alfonso Dolce as the company pushes into a broader lifestyle business beyond its fashion roots and races to get its finances in order.
The timing is no coincidence. The closely held company has been squeezed by a prolonged downturn in the luxury sector, a slump worsened by uncertainty linked to the war in Iran. The pressure has hurt earnings and made it harder to service debt. Lenders are now seeking up to €150m ($175.3m) in fresh capital as part of a broader refinancing plan covering €450m in debt. To raise the funds, the company is weighing the sale of real estate assets and the renewal of licences.
Against that backdrop, the management shake-up is as much about survival as strategy. Co-founder Stefano Gabbana, 63, stepped down from his management role in December last year, a move the company described on April 10th as “part of a natural evolution of its organisational structure and governance” that would have “no impact” on his creative activities. Alfonso Dolce, brother of co-founder and designer Domenico Dolce, has since held the roles of both chairman and chief executive. He called Cantino’s arrival “a new phase of growth and development.” Gabbana, meanwhile, is said to be exploring options for his roughly 40 per cent stake in the business as debt negotiations with creditors gather pace.
Cantino arrives with a curriculum vitae that reads like a tour of the top addresses in luxury. A political science graduate of the Università degli Studi di Torino, class of 1987, he spent more than two decades at Prada, beginning as marketing director in 1998 before rising through communications, external relations and business development roles. He then crossed to Louis Vuitton in Paris, where he served as senior vice-president of communication and events for nearly six years. In 2024 he joined Gucci as deputy chief executive, stepping up to the top job in January 2025, a tenure that lasted just nine months before Francesca Bellettini took over in September.
His arrival also fills the void left by Fedele Usai, managing director since 2023, who departed in March to become chief marketing officer at Kering.
Founded in the mid-1980s by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the house became one of the world’s most recognisable fashion brands on the back of its sun-drenched Mediterranean aesthetic. Although the two founders separated more than two decades ago, they remained business partners, jointly controlling 80 per cent of the company through a holding entity. The remaining shares are held by Domenico, Alfonso and their sister Dorotea. The company reported revenue of around €2bn for the financial year ending March 31st 2025.
Cantino called it an honour to join a brand that represents Italian excellence globally, the sort of thing incoming executives invariably say. With €450m in debt to refinance and a luxury slowdown still biting, he will need to do considerably more than say the right things.
