Only Anne Hathaway's Valentino Ballgown Is Worthy of Showcasing an "Exceptionally Rare," "Secret Garden" Necklace
No one can pull off Bulgari like her.
Award season styling ended with the 2026 Oscars, but a Valentino gown custom-made for Anne Hathaway still deserved a red carpet close-up. Hathaway couldn't wear just any dress with a necklace valued near $3 million, after all.
Bulgari brought Hathaway to Italy on March 23 to showcase its new Eclectica collection, but her bespoke Valentino gown was an unexpected treat. Her stylist, Erin Walsh, dressed Hathaway in the most voluminous of ballgowns, featuring cape-like sleeves and an elongated train. Textured, wood grain-looking fabric—a defining motif in creative director Alessandro Michele's Spring 2025 Couture collection—covered every square inch of the tomato-red design. It also elevated a Spring 2026 color trend, one Hathaway began testing last October. To finish, Michele slashed the original turtleneck into a V-shaped plunge, which gave her Secret Garden Necklace enough space to shine.
Anne Hathaway was all smiles in a Valentino Couture ballgown and a Bulgari necklace in Milan.
See the ballgown's blueprint on the Valentino Couture runway.
Hathaway's pièce de résistance debuted that day in the 160-piece Bulgari Eclectica line. Inspired by "Rome’s hidden courtyards at sunset," leaf-like pavé diamonds bookended domed, cabochon emeralds and purple sapphires, according to the label. The Secret Garden Necklace's centerpiece was an "exceptionally rare" 26.65-carat, pink Padparadscha sapphire from Sri Lanka, beneath a stacked trio of slightly smaller stones. The pink, green, and purple sparklers took over 1,200 hours to hand-assemble. In the end, the necklace channeled the "natural fluidity of climbing plants," just as Bulgari hoped.
Hathaway's Valentino gown gave the Secret Garden Necklace its moment.
To the public, Bulgari's Eclectica suite is fresh from the design studio. But Hathaway got her hands on another hero piece—the Neoclassical Starlight Necklace—as early as the 2026 Oscars. The Devil Wears Prada star paired her floral Valentino gown with the architectural, collar-style accessory's 8.02-carat, pear-cut yellow diamond. Similar yellow gemstones returned atop Hathaway's Eclectica earrings and rings, too.
Earlier this month, Hathaway wore Bulgari Eclectica jewels at the Oscars.
Hathaway's press tour style for The Devil Wears Prada 2 remains under lock and key. Knowing her, Bulgari bling will have a starring role in her red carpet looks. Extra points if they too, are "exceptionally rare."
