Birthdays are big business for brands, offering a moment to capitalize on a maison’s lasting legacy.
In today’s rapid cycle of trends, viral videos, and fast shifts in fashion, it’s meaningful when a global luxury brand has staying power. Powerhouse brands show us what they’re made of when celebrating a major milestone.
Take, for instance, Bulgari—an epitome of European elegance. In May 2024, the brand took over the city of its founding, Rome, to throw a party unlike any other to mark its 140th anniversary. Ambassadors, including Anne Hathaway, Shu Qi, and Priyanka Chopra, descended on the Italian capital, with the latter wearing the most precious high jewelry piece ever created by Bulgari.
Left: Liu Yifei, Anne Hathaway, AND Priyanka Chopra at Bulgari’s 140th anniversary (Photo by German Larkin)
Right: Bulgari Aeterna High Jewelry (Photo by Pietro S. D’Aprano/Getty Images)
The Serpenti Aeterna necklace that sparkled around Chopra’s décolletage incorporated seven pear-shaped diamonds totaling 140 carats, one for each year of the brand’s illustrious history. Referred to as “the necklace of the century,” it is reportedly worth $40 million. An awe-inspiring jewelry show during the Bulgari party featured the Serpenti Aeterna and captivated audiences at the ancient baths and open-air museum, Terme di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian). Styled by Carine Roitfeld, a host of world-famous faces took to the runway to model necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings, including Isabella Rossellini and Mariacarla Boscono.
To coincide with the evening of extravagance—which also featured musical performances, dance recitals, and a dinner prepared by a Michelin-starred chef—an immersive installation created by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis was gifted to the city of Rome under the patronage of Fondazione Bulgari. The spectacle also introduced the Aeterna, Bulgari’s new high-end collection, which offers over 500 creations including watches, bags, jewelry, and fragrances—all shoppable or open for instant inquiries online.
Bulgari Aeterna High Jewelry event at Altare Della Patria (Photo by Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images for BVLGARI)
The sophisticated celebration set a high bar for luxury brands to mark their own upcoming anniversary celebrations. Next year, revered Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet is readying to blow out 150 candles on the cake. Recently, it whetted customers’ appetites by launching the black ceramic Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph in line with the 30th anniversary of the celebrity-favored Royal Oak Offshore collection. The limited-edition timepieces were inspired by the “End of Days” watch, originally released in 1999 in partnership with the film’s star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Making it ultra-special, only 500 of the collectors’ timepieces—valued at $62,100—were created.
As for titans of American fashion, two stalwarts—Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch—celebrated their 40th and 20th years in business, respectively. Marc Jacobs called in friends and collaborators including designer Anna Sui, makeup maestro Pat McGrath, stylist Alastair McKimm, director Sofia Coppola, Supreme’s former creative director Tremaine Emory, and artist Stephen Sprouse, among others, to reimagine pieces from his archives, which were launched in special drops. Ahead of New York Fashion Week, Jacobs returned to the Park Avenue Armory for a surprise off-calendar show that fused an array of references including paper dolls, The Supremes, aughts nostalgia, and Stepford Wives—making for images that reverberated around the world, even before the models’ finale walk.
Left: Irina Shayk walks the runway at the Tory Burch Fall/Winter 2024 show (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Right: Marc Jacobs Spring 2024 Ready-to-Wear show at The Armory in New York (Photo by Nina Westervelt/WWD via Getty Images)
Twenty years in, Tory Burch has said she feels like she’s just getting started as editors cheer on what many call the “Toryaissance,” thanks to her renewed, reinvigorated, and refreshed design approach and covetable runway collections. Burch kicked off the anniversary year in February with a New York Fashion Week show at the New York Public Library and will host additional celebrations to mark her 20-year milestone throughout 2024.
As with Tommy Hilfiger, who is gearing up to celebrate his brand’s 40th anniversary in 2025 with collaborations and activations, these designers and fashion houses prove that as long as you maintain the luxe appeal that you’re known for, age might be just a number—but experience and wisdom are priceless.
