SPECIAL DELIVERY: After Rewrite the Future, a charity project with the Save the Children organization launched in February, Bulgari is now commemorating its 125th anniversary with an unusual partner — the Poste Italiane. The special edition stamp worth 77 cents features a 1965 yellow gold and platinum necklace dripping with amethysts, turquoises, emeralds and diamonds. On Friday, Poste Italiane will issue 3.5 million pieces of the stamp. Philatelics may try their luck in the post offices of Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples, where it’s available, and online at poste.it. An article detailing an extensive history of the brand, penned by Bulgari Group chairman Paolo Bulgari, complements the purchase.
The Bulgari stamp joins two others dedicated to Made In Italy products — the Fiat 500 and the Lamborghini Miura. Other activities scheduled to mark Bulgari’s anniversary include a retrospective called “Between Eternity and History” that will be held on May 22 in Rome, followed by a party. At the same time, the firm will showcase 15 high jewelry designs and eight exclusive timepieces worth an estimated 3 million euros, or $3.9 million. The pieces will be auctioned off in December in New York, with all the proceeds going toward the charity.
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TWICE IS A CHARM: PPR chief François-Henri Pinault and his wife Salma Hayek on Saturday reprised their wedding, this time in Venice. The couple reportedly said “si” again at the La Fenice Theatre and later dined al fresco inside a rose-filled Punta della Dogana, the museum of contemporary art owned by the Pinaults. Some 200 guests — including Edward Norton, Lucy Liu, Jacques Chirac, Penélope Cruz and Valeria Golino — glided down the canals to attend the event. The couple were first married last year at a small ceremony in Paris and have a daughter, Valentina Paloma.
PRESIDENTIAL EXAMPLE: As president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Diane von Furstenberg has championed copyright protection. So she was naturally shocked when she was being accused late last week of having designed a jacket that resembled one by Canadian label Mercy. “When I saw it on the Internet, I thought, The print is completely different,” von Furstenberg told WWD. “But then I saw something about the style with the bow, so I am not sure.” She immediately contacted her design team and found that the woman who designed the item no longer worked for her. “I am finding out the information, and I have asked my attorney to contact [Mercy’s designers] and say that we are investigating,” von Furstenberg said. “I am mortified that something like that could happen here. I will do what is necessary to do, and if indeed there was an infringement, I will compensate and will use this example to make sure this doesn’t happen again — not just for me, but for everybody.”
REUSE, RE-WEAR, RECYCLE: Add Rodarte to the growing list of young New York designers Michelle Obama is giving a publicity boost. For her meeting with Jordan’s Queen Rania on April 23, Obama pulled a fall-winter 2007 Rodarte dress from her closet — a pleated, sleeveless taupe number she purchased at Ikram and had previously worn to a dinner during the Democratic National Convention last summer, pairing it on both occasions with the same Erickson Beamon pearl necklaces. Adhering to the “shop your closet” mantra, Obama donned the Moschino bow blouse and Junya Watanabe cardigan (this one in pink) the same day for a Take Your Child to Work Day event for White House employees. Obama had previously worn the blouse and a blue version of the sweater during her visit to Europe in early April.
DIVINE LOOK: Tom Hanks is set to look heavenly when he reprises his role as Robert Langdon in “Angels & Demons,” the film based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown. The film’s costume designer, Daniel Orlandi, selected suits cut by Brioni’s master tailors for the character. The movie hits theaters globally May 15.