Stars come out to celebrate IWC Watches

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Several hours before attention turned to London for the royal wedding, guests attending watch brand IWC’s party for the relaunch of its Portofino collection were transported to Italy via a sound stage in Culver City that was decked out to feel like a quaint Italian village.

The Portofino collection was originally launched by IWC in 1984 and features six styles of high-end watches in varying materials, from alligator to mesh metal straps. To mark the revamp of the line, the Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based brand commissioned photographer Peter Lindbergh to capture a group of celebrities -- including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Spacey, Matthew Fox, Eric Dane, Jean Reno and French soccer player Zinedine Zidane -- to pose in Portofino and create a glamorous 1950s-style photo shoot. The photographs were displayed at the event among the Vespas, ‘sidewalk’ artists, outdoor-marketplace-inspired food stations, chess tables, picnic benches and even a bocce ball court that were brought in to transform the Culver Studios space into a Portofino-esque setting.

‘I feel like I’m at a wedding,’ someone was overheard saying in the crowd as they strolled between the seafood and pasta stations catered by Wolfgang Puck and a photo booth set up like an old movie set, where guests could get their picture taken as a take-home memento.

It may not have had quite the pomp and circumstance of the royal wedding, but it was an impressive production that brought fashion, entertainment and Hollywood together in one place. Star wattage included Sylvester Stallone, Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, Patrick Dempsey, Dermot Mulroney, Carla Gugino and Rob Lowe.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Upper photo: From left: IWC President George Kern, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Lowe, Carla Gugino and Josh Duhamel. Credit: Alexandra Wyman / Wireimage

Lower photo: A sample of the ‘Italian village’ atmosphere at the IWC Portofino Event at Culver Studios. Photo Credit: Alexandra Wyman / Wireimage