Dolce & Gabbana acquitted of tax evasion/></p> <p>Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana will not have to stand trial in Italy for alleged tax fraud.</p> <p>The news follows a preliminary court hearing held in Milan last week concerning accusations that design duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana had avoided paying taxes totalling $569 million each.</p> <p>The designers were accused of setting up a holdings company in Luxembourg in 2004, called Grado Srl, to which they sold their D&G and Dolce & Gabbana brands in order to evade high Italian taxes.</p> <p>It is a claim which the designers have always denied, previously stating: “It’s an absurd demand based on a completely abstract calculation.”</p> <p>Had Dolce & Gabbana been found guilty, they could have been personally liable to pay more than $1 billion in unpaid taxes and fines, and subjected to a prison sentence of up to three years.</p> <p>The announcement will come as a huge relief to the pair, who count celebrities Naomi Campbell, Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears among their clientele.</p> <div class=