Designers Dolce & Gabbana Sentenced to Jail

In the most unlikely headline you’ll see all day, Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to one year and eight months in jail.

Following a hearing today, where neither designer was present, a judge ruled that the designers moved their high-profile business to a Luxembourg-based holding company Gado in 2004.

The judge said he believed that the pair, whose clothes have been worn by countless celebrities worldwide, had done this to avoid declaring taxes on royalties of around 1 billion euros, making them guilty of tax evasion.

Kylie is one of the pair's many celeb fans

Today’s ruling is the culmination of a six-year investigation by Italian authorities. The pair had initially been cleared of the charges, in April 2011, but the highest court in Italy proceeded to overturn that ruling and the case reopened.

Dolce and Gabbana have yet to comment on the ruling, but the pair are very likely to appeal the verdict. They are said to be unlikely to go to jail any time soon.