This week legendary Italian eyewear brand Persol, a bastion of Dolce Vita style, is debuting its iconic INCOGNITO design exhibition in the U.S. at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The invitation-only opening night celebration will feature a performance by Lou Reed.

Running from June 24 - 28, INCOGNITO by Persol is an interactive exhibition that was designed to "bring to life the emotions and richness" of a heritage born nearly 90 years ago in Turin, Italy and which today remains an icon of Italian design and craftsmanship.

Persol made its big screen debut in 1961 worn by Marcello Mastroianni in Divorce Italian Style, and its U.S. film debut in 1968 worn by Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (right). Two of the most stylish stars in the history of cinema, they catapulted the brand onto the international scene.

Other stars who have worn Persols over the years include Jack Nicholson, Richard Gere, Paul Newman, Roberto Rossellini, Cindy Crawford, Nicolas Cage, Pierce Brosnan, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Christian Slater, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Heath Ledger, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Adrien Brody and Daniel Craig, who sported two different styles in Casino Royale.

The tradition, quality, style and design that drive Persol's brand philosophy are embodied in the INCOGNITO exhibition, which involves all the senses. Along a path of images, sounds, colors, and technology, visitors can experience the world of Persol: the quality of the workmanship and materials, the uniqueness of design in the products and collections, the technological evolution and Persol's exclusive patents, as well as the magic and allure of the silver screen idols who made them famous.

Famed Italian jeweler and luxury goods firm Bulgari plans to cut jobs, close stores and pare down its collections in the wake of a disastrous 45% drop in profits. The company, which was founded in 1884, has seen its watch business suffer badly in the economic downturn, with sales plunging 10.6%, Vogue UK reports. Accessories dropped 1.5% and jewelery, the company's core business, dropped 2.5%. On the plus side, perfume sales have increased by 12%, perhaps an indication that consumers see fragrance as a relatively affordable luxury. Sales in America and Europe were particularly poor, though the Middle East was up by 9%.

The company, a red carpet favorite of stars like Halle Berry, Keira Knightley and Kate Hudson, describes its jewelry as "pure luxury obtained by means of daring combinations, precious materials, purity of design and meticulous attention to detail." "[This year] will be a very difficult year," states Bulgari CEO Francesco Trapani, adding that future earnings are impossible to predict. "We don't feel able to give a number of any meaning because the situation is so very complicated." He is no doubt feeling somewhat overextended on the retail side with over 230 locations worldwide.

On March 23rd, online jewelry retailer Bidz.com will auction off a gold and diamond tiara designed by the late Gianni Versace to benefit the Aid for AIDS charity. The one-of-a-kind tiara, which contains over 1,200 diamonds and is worth an estimated $3 million, has been worn by celebrities including Madonna, Amber Valletta and Donatella Versace. The opening bid for the precious piece is $699,000. The Versace Tiara won the famous De Beers Diamonds International Award in 1995 due to the meticulous detail and craftsmanship Gianni Versace put into creating the piece.

The tiara, the star of Versace's famous Atelier Collection, has previously been held only by private collectors. This is the first time in the history of the piece that it is being made available to the public for purchase. A substantial amount of the funds raised from the online auction will go to Aid for AIDS, a non-profit premier service provider for Los Angeles County whose mission is to provide direct financial assistance and critical support for the necessities of life to those impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS. Click here for more info.

Italian publisher Skira is about to release the gorgeous catalog of an exhibition at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art commemorating the eightieth anniversary of design house Ferragamo. Founder Salvatore Ferragamo died in 1960, but his name lives on in the firm which has become "synonymous with shoes that embody wildly creative design, painstaking construction techniques, blissful comfort, and the finest materials" - not to mention over-the-top items such as the $250,000 crocodile trench coat we wrote about the other day.

Salvatore Ferragamo: Evolving Legend 1928-2008 is a "fully illustrated monograph of the legendary Italian purveyor of luxury, this book also serves as a journey through the history of fashion from the 1920s to the present." Mr. Ferragamo made his name creating footwear for the most beautiful movie stars in Hollywood including Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Deitrich, and Audrey Hepburn. The book is filled with a rich collection of photographs, archival material, sketches, and drawings exploring Ferragamo's design process.

On March 18 Sotheby's in London will auction off $3 million-plus worth of paintings, furniture and works of art from late designer Gianni Versace's amazing Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como, Italy, comprising some 550 lots. In 1977 Versace (in front of the house with his Irish Setters, above) purchased the Villa, which was built in 1776, and restored it to its former neoclassical glory. The Villa itself was sold to a Russian billionaire for $52 million last year, and the Versace family has now decided to deaccession the contents. The designer personally supervised every step of the renovation and carefully selected every item used in its furnishing and decoration, down to the spectacular mosaic floors and paneling.

Versace set out to create his own personal Arcadia at Villa Fontanelle, and spared no expense. It was said to be his favorite residence. Highlights from the sale include a pair of spectacular life-size casts of Antonio Canova's Pugilists in plaster, c.1800, which were displayed in Versace's own bedroom, estimated at about $30,000 - $60,000; an exceptional pair of Italian gilt and patinated bronze-mounted bookcases, originally commissioned by Princess Pauline Boghese for the Library at Palazzo Borghese in Rome, est. about $110,000 - $140,000; and a pair of stunning Sévres Coral-red-ground vases "Etrusques", circa 1795, est. about $11,000 - $17,000.

Among the paintings from Versace's collection on offer is the tempera on canvas Hercules at the Crossroads Between Vice and Virtue attributed to Pelagio Palagi in 1820, est. about $35,000 - $55,000, as well as a very good collection of paintings on glass, miniatures and a vast array of works of art depicting Roman emperors. "It is a great pleasure to orchestrate this one-off sale of such a maverick of style whose taste and influence is epitomized in his Villa Fontanelle collection," says Mario Tavella, Sotheby's European Deputy Chairman responsible for Single-Owner Collections. "This is the last opportunity to enter into Gianni's world and buy something from a collection that is representative of his legacy."

[via JustLuxe]

Two of the world's top luxury brands are forming a partnership aimed at producing a number of high-end projects. Italian fashion house Prada and German automaker Audi plan to explore numerous joint ventures, beginning with co-sponsoring a high tech sailing yacht. Meanwhile some insiders are already speculating on a special Prada edition of Audi's wicked R8 supercar (above). The brands' first collaboration will take place next month when they jointly sponsor the yacht Luna Rossa in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series regatta in New Zealand.

"Audi and Prada concur that whether in the world of fashion or cars, luxury stems from good design and superlative standards of quality," the two firms state. "Both companies use only materials of the highest caliber in their products, often tailored to the individual requirements of the customer. Both brands are able to look back on a lengthy tradition, while repeatedly demonstrating their prowess as progressive trendsetters. Against this backdrop, the two companies... aim to pool these strengths and build up a long-term partnership, [which] we hope will result in top-class projects."

Remember the $150,000 crocodile peacoat from Hermès we wrote about last summer? Luxury Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo has upped the ante considerably with a full length, double-breasted trench coat (above) made from the world's finest crocodile skin that costs an astounding $250,000. Available only by special order, the incredible matte black coat, handmade by artisans in Italy, features epaulettes, D-rings, forearm straps and a silk lining. Thomas Burberry is credited with inventing the trench coat in 1901; originally only British army officers were allowed to wear one. We're guessing this version was probably conceived of before the luxury goods market went to hell in an alligator handbag.

[via JustLuxe]

Chanel may have just pulled the plug (as we reported last month) on its Zaha Hadid-designed Mobile Art Pavilion, but Prada is going ahead with plans for an even more ambitious project. Despite the economy, the luxury Italian fashion house just began construction on the Prada Transformer, a tetrahedron-shaped "transformative building" designed by starchitect Rem Koolhaas (rendering above), on the grounds of Gyeonghui Palace in Seoul, Korea. Koolhaas, who won the Pritzker Prize in 2000 and also designed the Prada flagship store in Manhattan, describes the building as a "dynamic and living organism'' because it transforms itself into different structures to suit various events. The location of the project, the single largest communications platform for the Prada group worldwide in 2009, speaks to the importance of the Asian market in a depressed luxury goods environment.

Scheduled to open at the end of March, the Prada Transformer will stage a range of art, cinema, culture and fashion events though August. the 65-ft. high tetrahedron is composed of four different shapes, a hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle. "Once a month, cranes will lift and rotate the structure into a different facade and floor plate configuration," the Korea Times reports. "When rotated, each side will be the venue of a different cultural program." On the outside, the entire structure will be wrapped with an elastic translucent membrane. Prada partnered with LG Electronics (makers of the Prada cell phone) and the Hyundai Motor Company on the ambitious scheme, which if successful will probably travel to other cities as well.

Italian luxury goods firm Bottega Veneta has come out with a stunning sterling silver desk set (above) which cleverly translates the company's signature leather weave, known as Intrecciato. The stylish set includes a ruler ($1,670), letter opener ($1,070), magnifying glass ($820), business card case ($790) and bookmark ($180). Creative director Tomas Maier, who was installed following Gucci's acquisition of the brand in 2001, has recently expanded Bottega Veneta's offerings beyond the traditional leather goods and apparel, to elegant effect.

Classic luxury Italian fashion brand Brioni, best known for outfitting Pierce Brosnan during his tenure as James Bond (right), is looking to sell a 25% stake in the business. "This is a family company. We need to think about the future and ways to develop the brand," Brioni CEO Antonella De Simone tells WWD.

The company, founded in Rome in 1945 and named after a resort on the Adriatic Sea, makes ready-to-wear and bespoke men's suits costing from $6,000 - $36,000, and has a women's line as well. Some of its luster may have been lost when James Bond switched to Tom Ford, but the brand is undeniably valuable.

Beginning this month, Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana are debuting an incredibly luxurious collection of one-off crocodile bags for men as part of their Spring / Summer 2009 offerings. The collection is limited to 20 unique pieces worldwide, each costing about $50,000. The One-of-A-Kind collection "blends together the artisan leather tradition of Tuscany with Dolce & Gabbana's innovative use of precious materials," the company notes. Each piece is crafted out of "the finest mix of luxurious multi-colored crocodile skin in a unique and not-reproducible combination meant for those men who are looking for the ultimate object of desire." Inside each bag is an embroidered label reading "Limited Edition - Number 1 of 1." Last summer my colleague Rigel Celeste wrote about the women's version.

The remarkable 50-year career of Valentino, founder of the first couture house to be recognized by the French government outside of Paris, is given the coffee table treatment in a lavish new book, Valentino: Themes and Variations (Rizzoli, $75).

The tome on Rome-based Valentino Garavani is published in association with a prestigious exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, curated by the author, Pamela Golbin. The book focuses on the designer's haute couture creations, culminating in his brilliant Paris presentation last January.

"I have always considered my work as the one of a writer," Valentino notes in the foreword. "Over the years I wrote only one story, the one of my style, where each collection represents a single chapter, with all its emotions, ideas and motifs. The looks may change with every chapter, but the main characters are the same, as are the people and things that inspire me."

Mega model Isabeli Fontana is really on a roll this season. As we reported previously, the Brazilian bombshell stars in the new Versace campaign with Natalia Vodianova shot by Mario Testino, as well as the Roberto Cavalli campaign based on Luchino Visconti's 1963 film Il Gattopardo. Now she has also landed the fall Valentino campaign along with fellow stunner Angela Lindvall (at right, above, who also appears for Cavalli), shot by Peter Lindbergh in Paris. Gisele had better watch her back.

Versace has tapped two of modeling's most beautiful faces for its new Fall ad campaign shot by famed photographer Mario Testino. Russian knockout Natalia Vodianova (foreground) and Brazilian stunner Isabeli Fontana star in the ads which feature Versace's eye-popping new line of handbags, clothing and accessories. Fontana is having an especially good season campaign-wise. As we reported last month, she also stars in Roberto Cavalli's theatrical new ads as well those of Valentino. See the gallery for more pix from the campaign.

Last month we reported that Italian designer Roberto Cavalli had picked not one but four beautiful models to replace Kate Moss in the ad campaign for his signature collection, which will be modeled on the classic movie Il Gattopardo. He's not quite over Kate, however. She is now starring in ads for one of his diffusion lines, Just Cavalli, which is targeted to a younger audience. The ads, shot by fashion photog duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, mirror real life somewhat, portraying Kate partying with a bunch of rock star dudes (no controlled substances are visible). After finally breaking with messed up Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty, the eternally gorgeous Brit beauty took up with another, more presentable rocker, James Hince of The Kills, though on her recent party jaunt to Sardinia he was conspicuously absent.