Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have closed their Milan stores for three days "in indignation" over remarks by a city official relating to their tax evasion conviction.

The pair took out a full-page ad Saturday in Italian dailies expressing frustration with "insults" aimed at them.

The last straw, they said, were remarks by a city official who said tax evaders should not be allowed to use prominent city spaces.

Dolce and Gabbana were found guilty last month of failing to declare 200 million euros ($268 million) through a Luxembourg company. They deny the charges and plan to appeal.

The duo's Dolce&Gabbana label got its start in Milan 30 years ago. Gabbana said on Twitter that they never asked to use city spaces.

The stores reopen today.