ROME, Italy (AFP) — One of the co-founders of Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana, Stefano Gabbana, has stepped down as chairman but remains in his creative capacity, the company said Friday.

D&G said that Gabbana, 63, had resigned from his corporate positions as of January 1 “as part of a natural process of organisational and governance evolution”.

The fashion company’s new chairman is Chief Executive Alfonso Dolce, the brother of Gabbana’s co-designer Domenico Dolce, according to a corporate filing from January viewed by AFP.

The departure of Gabbana, who launched the label with Dolce in 1985, was first reported by Bloomberg.

Gabbana is also considering options for his 40 percent stake in the company, as it enters a new round of negotiations with bank lenders to refinance 450 million euros ($525 million) of debt, Bloomberg reported.

D&G said it had nothing to report on the debt issue reported by Bloomberg “as negotiations with the banks are still ongoing.”

Many top fashion brands have been squeezed in recent years by a slump in the luxury market.

Both Dolce and Gabbana appeared on the runway with guest Madonna after February’s D&G women’s ready-to-wear show at Milan Fashion Week.

Dolce and Gabbana are one of fashion’s most successful design collaborations, tapping into Dolce’s Sicilian roots for form-fitting designs that have attracted stars from Madonna to Monica Bellucci.