{"id":28120,"date":"2025-01-15T16:41:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T15:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/?p=28120"},"modified":"2025-01-15T16:42:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T15:42:23","slug":"oliviero-toscani-the-bold-photographer-of-benetton-campaigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/oliviero-toscani-the-bold-photographer-of-benetton-campaigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliviero Toscani: the bold photographer of Benetton campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The photographer Oliviero Toscani, known for his campaigns for Benetton, died on 13 January has revealed throughout his career clich\u00e9s marked by a certain provocation but highlighting the diversity of the world and the inequalities and suffering that inhabit it. Return to this legacy of redefining the codes of visual communication.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAdvertising photography should not sell a product, it should sell an idea,\u201d<\/em> said Oliviero Toscani. A mantra that sums up his photographic journey. Born in 1942 in Milan to a photographer father, the artist takes his arms in the streets of New York by taking pictures of urban life. In 1976, he created the campaign Les contemporains for the creator Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.<\/p>\n

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When he joined Benetton in 1982,<\/strong> his career took a new turn. The challenge to deliver a message. Racism, inclusion, death penalty, HIV, religion, women\u2019s cause… a true social manifesto.<\/strong> Adored by progressives and criticized by well-wishers, the artist\u2019s sultry campaigns for Benetton propelled the Italian brand image into a sphere that was unexploited by the fashion industry at the time.<\/p>\n

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Diversity and inclusiveness, a key topic of Oliviero Toscani<\/h2>\n

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For the fall-winter 1984 collection, Oliviero Toscani unveiled its first campaign \u00abAll the colors of the world\u00bb. Photography certainly is a nod to the pop tones of the Italian brand but it turns out to be a reflection of diversity, valuing various cultures. On a white background, people of all ethnic groups pose in Christmas sweaters, between hugs and smiles.<\/p>\n

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The 1989 winter campaign is called \u201cBreastfeeding\u201d and features a black woman nursing a white baby. In addition to diversity, this photograph advocates a certain feminism, at a time when women\u2019s bare and natural breasts are banned on social networks and where mothers still have to hide to breastfeed their child in the public space. For the following season, two \u201cChildren on the pot\u201d were photographed.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Oliviero Toscani \u2013 Benetton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Liberation is from 1993. It shows 56 photos of male and female genders in various shapes and colours. While this decade is marked by chic porn and hypersexualization in fashion, Benetton makes the choice to show genital devices with ease, always in this quest for inclusivity and diversity. In the same spirit, in 1996, the \u201cHeart\u201d campaign unveiled three human hearts marked with \u201cwhite\u201d, \u201cblack\u201d, \u201cyellow\u201d.<\/p>\n

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In 1992, the \u201cAlbinos\u201d campaign featured a female albino in a Zulu tribe in South Africa during a virgin girl ceremony. The artist also advocates for fair justice with a 1989 image of two men, black and white, handcuffed, in order to instill the message that everyone should be treated equally in a court.<\/p>\n

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The harmony of religions<\/h2>\n

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In 1986, the photographer highlighted a young Muslim and a young Jewish. Two friends, beyond religions, holding a globe in both hands. The same world. A clich\u00e9 that still resonates today as a celebration of friendship and living together, regardless of the confessions of each.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Oliviero Toscani \u2013 Benetton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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One of the great campaigns of Oliviero Toscani is none other than \u00abPriest and Nun\u00bb, for the fall-winter 1991. Two religious are seen kissing gently, which has not failed to amaze the Church and the Catholic community but also had the effect of bringing immense visibility to Benetton. As some communicators say: in positive or negative, the important thing is that we talk about the brand.<\/p>\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par United Colors of Benetton (@benetton)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n