The lasted buzz around Gucci is their Tattoo Heart Collection which was feted last week at celeb-studded bash at the Oak Room in NYC. Designed by Gucci’s creative director Frida Gianninito, 25 percent of the sales from the dedicated collection will go to Unicef and Rihanna will appear in a unique international advertising campaign to highlight the 4th annual Gucci Campaign to Benefit the charitable organization. The ad campaign will run worldwide in December 2008 and January 2009 publications and will feature key pieces from the Tattoo Heart Collection.  

Gucci hosted a fundraising event in New York this past February where they raised $2.7 million for Unicef and collectively Gucci’s total commitment date reaches over $5 million. In fact this is the fourth collection that Giannini has designed to support Unicef’s life-saving programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2005 the company says, they have strategically selected the holiday season to achieve maximum sales for the benefit of Unicef.  

This year’s initiative Giannini special white version of Gucci’s new Tattoo Heart Collection features a stylized illustrated heart tattoo which is decorated with Gucci iconic symbols – the horsebit and the web – the products dedicated to the Unicef campaign are distinguished by being all white.  

Further, this year the collection has been expanded to include new handbag styles and a range of materials. Giannini has said that she loves the idea of a heart being tattooed onto the handbags saying, “it’s a permanent mark that you can wear with pride and that stays with you. I think that represents very well what we are doing here. This is not a one-off program, but rather an ongoing commitment to the incredible work that Unicef is able to achieve. It’s really our chance to give back.” 

The collection is in Gucci stores in over 20 countries through January 31, 2009. Go to gucci.com/unicef for more information.