Chiara Ferragni is no stranger to sitting front row. An original influencer who made her name for herself in the early days of 2009 thanks to her cult style blog Blonde Salad, Ferragni became veritable fashion royalty in Milan, as well as a well-known figure within the global fashion world. For years she has claimed a seat on the FROW of big-name shows, such as Gucci, Prada and, as recently as this September, Stella McCartney and Schiaparelli.
But this week her front row seat will be in front of a judge rather than a passing parade of models. Ferragni is currently facing trial on charges of aggravated fraud following a Pandoro Christmas cake collaboration with Italian brand Balocco in 2022. At the time, Ferragni and Balocco claimed the Pandoro cake was helping to support children’s cancer research at Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin. If found guilty, she could face up to five years in prison.
A year later, Ferragni and Balocco were slapped with sanctions from the Italian Competition Authority, which argued that her messaging made it seem like sales from the Pandoro collaboration would go towards the hospital. In reality, Balocco made one single €50,000 donation to the hospital, while paying Ferragni a million-euro fee for the collaboration. As a result, Ferragni was ordered to pay a €1 million fine.
The scandal rippled through the fashion community, shocking Ferragni’s fans, who had come to closely associate the influencer with charity work. It eventually earned itself the name “Pandorogate”. Ferragni’s fans turned on her, with the influencer’s social media accounts seeing a drastic drop in followers almost immediately. The situation was made worse by her filmed apology on Instagram, where Ferragni called the incident a “communication error.” and claimed the ICA’s sanctions were “disproportionate and unfair.” Suffice it to say that these reasonings did not go down well.
Before Pandorogate, Ferragni was riding high: her holding company, Fenice, was being eyed for a €75 million sale just months before the scandal broke. She was married to a popular rapper, Fedez, and the pair appeared to be happily raising their seven-year-old son, Leone, and a four-year-old daughter, Vittoria.
Now, two years on from the initial news, Ferragni is in court facing charges of aggravated fraud related to the Pandoro cake scandal, as well as a separate Easter egg collaboration in support of a children’s autism charity. She has already ponied up a lot of money: €3.4 million in total, including her €1 million fine, a €1 million donation to the Regina Margherita Hospital, and €1.2 million to the children’s autism organisation.
Ferragni also settled a complaint with Codacons, the Italian Consumer Association, where she was ordered to pay €150 in compensation to customers who had contacted the authority, alongside another €200,000 charity donation. The €75 million sale fell through and Ferragni’s company has since reported losses up to €10 million. Two of her physical stores have been shuttered.
Then there’s Ferragni’s personal life, which has also taken a beating. Her marriage to Fedez fell apart right around the time the Pandorogate scandal hit and both parties were publicly accused of infidelity (Ferragni has denied these claims, Fedez has said he married Chiara “with conviction” but admitted he had made mistakes with another woman). The highly curated family life Ferragni previously posted on Instagram was suddenly gone, with it later revealed that Fedez and Ferrgani had signed a contract requiring each other’s permission to post their children on social media. Both have since moved on and are reportedly already dating again.
As for the trial: Ferragni hasn’t said much, but she did briefly answer a reporter’s questioning outside of a fashion show in Milan this March. “In the end, I didn’t do anything,” she told the reporter, “Something I wouldn’t do again? Well, many things, like trusting the wrong people, that’s all.”
