Imagine an empire built from a blog, transformed into a fashion brand, then a global business — not with skyscrapers or factories, but with followers, images, aspirations. That was once the story of Chiara Ferragni.

And yet — sometimes the most fragile cracks are those no one sees. And when those cracks open, what falls apart isn’t just a business: it’s a belief system.

In December 2025, on the Rai 3 show Farwest, Pasquale Morgese — former 27.5% shareholder of the holding behind Ferragni’s empire — broke his silence. For the first time in public, he told his side of the story. What emerged was not a scandalless obituary for a brand — but something far more revealing: a confession from within. 

From Pride to Disillusion — the Early Years

Morgese recalled the early bond with Ferragni as full of optimism. He said he was, at first, “proud like a father seeing his child grow.”  Back then, the venture seemed less a business and more a creative project — brand identity, authenticity, innovation.

But things changed in 2018, when another founding partner left. At that moment, Morgese says, Ferragni asked him to take over the departing partner’s shares. He accepted — but soon after she allegedly asked that he give them to her for free. Morgese refused, asking instead only the amount he had invested. He recalled: “She started to cry, she said she expected me to give them to her.” 

That refusal — a simple act of contractual fairness — marked the turning point. According to Morgese, “the relationship cracked like a thin glass,” and from then on the business started sliding. 

The Shift: From Creative Venture to Cash Machine

As Morgese narrates, once the personal tie frayed, the culture within the company changed drastically: a new team, new advisors, a different mentality. He said that with the arrival of Fabio Maria Damato, who he describes as aspiring to be “the number one after Chiara,” the vision switched. The brand — once seen as a child to raise — became “a machine to generate revenue.” 

Morgese didn’t mince words. “Chiara thought only about making money,” he said. “Acquisition, expansion… the value was the income — period.” 

This was not just a change of tone — it was a shift in identity. The emotional bond, the authenticity, the creative integrity — all were sacrificed at the altar of profit.

The Final Blow: When the Scandal Exploded

According to Morgese, the pivot towards profit-centric strategy — constant expansion, aggressive monetization, and less attention to brand soul — laid the ground for what later became the public scandal known as “Pandoro Gate.” 

When the scandal broke, it wasn’t just a misstep: it was a systemic failure, a result of years of prioritizing quick gains over transparency, ethics, brand integrity. Morgese recalled his reaction bluntly: “We are fried — they messed up everything.” 

The fallout was brutal: brand value collapsed, business partners abandoned ship, and the once-admired “digital queen” became the center of a national trial. 

What Morgese’s Testimony Means — and Why It Matters

Morgese’s intervention doesn’t just deepen the narrative about a scandal. It offers a rare “insider audit” of how a digital empire can be corrupted from the inside — by shifting values, internal power plays, and the slow bleed from artistry to commerce.

• It shows how early collaborators — people who believed in the vision — can become sidelined when a brand chooses growth over identity.
• It reveals that control over a brand’s soul often lies not just in the founder’s hands, but in those who manage money, structure, and strategy.
• It warns that once a brand becomes machinery, not community, its collapse can be spectacular and swift.

Morgese’s story is uncomfortable — for fans, for the industry, for anyone who believed in the fairy tale of “authentic influencer success.” But it is also necessary. Because it forces us to question what lies behind the glitter.

Has Chiara Ferragni’s Empire Died? Or Is This a Chance for Rebirth?

Morgese’s words have stripped away illusions. If Ferragni wants to rebuild — she must start from honesty, not branding; from transparency, not flash.

The only way forward, he seems to say, is not re-launching the same brand. It’s building something new. Something real.