Chiara Ferragni

Chiara Ferragni (; born 7 May 1987) is an Italian blogger and influencer.

Since 2021, Ferragni has been engulfed in controversy as the protagonist of the Pandorogate fraud scandal in which she is alleged to have unjustly profited millions of euros while claiming to be raising funds for charity. In 2023, she was required to pay a $1 million fine for fraud by the Italian Competition Authority. In January 2025, she was sent to trial on criminal charges for aggravated fraud in conjunction with the same investigation.

The Pandorogate scandal led to the passage of the Ferragni Law in Italy to prevent future fraud and false advertising by influencers.

Biography

Ferragni was born in the northern city of Cremona in 1987. Ferragni is the oldest of three daughters of a dentist from Cremona. Her mother Marina Di Guardo is an Italian writer from Sicily who also worked as deputy director of the Blumarine fashion house.

At the age of 16, she was hired by the Beatrice model agency in Milan. She modeled for the agency for a couple of years and then quit, due to "other goals to reach in my life". She started her fashion blog "The Blonde Salad" in October 2009 with an ex-boyfriend, Riccardo Pozzoli. In December 2011, she was profiled as the Blogger of the Moment in ''Teen Vogue'', while a law student at Bocconi University. she had not obtained her university degree.

In December 2013, she published an Italian language blog, titled ''The Blonde Salad''. In December 2013 she collaborated with Steve Madden to design a nine-shoe collection for Spring 2014. Her business ventures grossed about $8 million (mostly from her Chiara Ferragni Collection footwear) in 2014.

Her television credits include the Italian TRL Awards as a presenter, and a guest appearance on the Italian variety show . She also appeared on ''Project Runway'' as a guest judge during season 13 in August 2014.

In January 2015, her blog and shoe line, Chiara Ferragni Collection, became a case study at Harvard Business School. In March, Ferragni was selected for the cover of the April 2015 ''Vogue España'', becoming the first fashion blogger to appear on any ''Vogue'' cover. Chiara appeared on '' Lucky'' magazine alongside Nicole Warne and Zanita Whittington. In January 2016, Pantene announced Ferragni was its new global ambassador. Mattel created a Barbie version of Ferragni in September 2016, one wearing a white T-shirt, black leather jacket, jeans and Chiara Ferragni Collection shoes and the other wearing a head to toe Chanel look.

, Ferragni had 10 million followers on Instagram. Because of her broad following, she was able to earn about $12,000 for a sponsored post to Instagram. She also used her social media followership to campaign against the far right party in Italy. In 2017, Ferragni was chosen to design costumes for the 4th edition of Intimissimi on ice. On 26 July 2017, she opened her first Chiara Ferragni Collection store in Milan.

In June 2020, the Italian rapper Baby K released the summer hit " Non mi basta più" featuring Chiara Ferragni. Ferragni and her husband raised €3 million in 24 hours through a fundraiser to support the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

In April 2021, Ferragni joined the Board of Directors of Tod's Group. In March 2024, she was removed from this position.

In May 2021, Ferragni unveiled the Nespresso × Chiara Ferragni collection on her social media. A temporary pop-up cafe was set up in celebration of the capsule. In 2022, she announced the launch of her own line of fragrance.

On 29 January 2025, shortly after the news of the trial for aggravated fraud, Ferragni publicly vented against her ex-husband, accusing him of having always been a false and untruthful person towards her. Ferragni accused him of having had other love affairs with many other women.

Pandorogate

In December 2023, the Italian Competition Authority (Italian: ''Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (''AGCM)) announced that Ferragni and companies under her control must pay a fine of 1.075 million euros following a probe into unfair and misleading commercial practices. The probe and resulting sanctions were the result of a partnership between Ferragni and the Italian food company Balocco in 2022 to market a Ferragni-branded Balocco ''pandoro'', which is a cake-like bread popular in Italy at Christmas. The antitrust authority ruled that when buying a Ferragni-branded Balocco pandoro cake, customers were misled into thinking that by purchasing the product, they were contributing to charity donations to fund bone cancer research at the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin, further suggested by the price differential of over 9 euros for a Ferragni-branded Balocco pandoro cake, when a comparable Balocco pandoro costs under 4 euros.

The regulator said no part of the retail price paid or revenues raised from sales were donated to charity. Whilst Balocco had made a one-off donation of 50,000 euro to the hospital months before launching the Ferragni-branded ''pandoro'', no portion of the price paid by customers nor revenues raised through sales of the product were donated to charity. Despite Ferragni being paid over 1 million euros for the branding initiative and related promotional activities, the regulator said customers were also misled into thinking Ferragni was contributing to the charity when neither Ferragni nor any of the sanctioned companies under Ferragni's control donated any money to the Turin hospital.
Fabio Maria Damato was held responsible for the communication and management failure in the legal dispute called pandorogate by the media, and partly also for Ferragni's marital and financial failure, a reason for conflict and friction with her ex-husband because Fedez couldn't stand him at work and proximity, and was terminated on June 13, 2024, effective June 16, 2024.
Ferragni has suffered significant financial losses and very serious damage to her image which have undermined her credibility as a public figure and influencer and for this reason many brands have given up and closed collaboration contracts.
The Milan Public Prosecutor's Office accused Ferragni and Damato of aggravated fraud.
Ferragni and her companies were in financial trouble and the minor shareholders were threatening legal action.

The trial

On 29 January 2025, Ferragni was bound over to trial for aggravated fraud, which will begin in September 2025.

Ferragni Law

In the aftermath of Ferragni's crimes in Pandorogate, the Italian government enacted The Ferragni Law in 2024. The law regulates influencers with over 1 million followers to prevent future cases of fraud and false advertising.

Recognition

Personal life

Ferragni and Italian rapper Federico Lucia, known as Fedez, started dating in September 2016 and married on 1 September 2018 in Noto, Sicily. They have two children. They separated in early 2024 after Ferragni was sanctioned for the Pandorogate scandal.

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

Shoe design websiteThe Blonde Salad blog
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferragni, Chiara
1987 births
Living people
Fashion influencers
Italian bloggers
Italian expatriates in the United States
Italian female models
Italian women company founders
21st-century Italian businesswomen
21st-century Italian businesspeople
Businesspeople from Cremona
Mass media people from Cremona
People of Sicilian descent
Italian women bloggers
Italian Internet celebrities