Floral
Benetton
Benetton: The success story of the Italian designers, kings of the colorful sweater
While the great haute-couture designers have often teamed up with perfumery, the major ready-to-wear brands are no exception. Benetton, known since the 60s for its famous, very colorful sweaters, brought its rainbow colors to perfumery by creating its range in 1987 with Colors, propelled by the brand's favorite advertiser, Toscani. Little by little, Benetton, having become United Colors of Benetton, wove its way into the chic world of perfumery.
Benetton perfumes
From knitwear to fragrance creation, the Benetton family conquered the world
Luciano Benetton opened his very first store in 1963 thanks to the sweaters knitted by his sister Guiliana. Success was immediate, and three years later, the Benetton clan opened its first manufacturing plant. The secret behind this phenomenal rise: offering a range of 48 colors at a time when fashion offered virtually nothing but black and white.
In 1985 the Benetton holding company, where each family member has a role, settled in Luxembourg and began acquiring new names in order to build an empire. One thing is certain: for Luciano Benetton, as for his brothers Gilberto and Carlo, diversification was essential to expansion. From Sisley clothing to TipTop children's shoes, through the sponsorship of rugby or basketball and, of course, the acquisition of an F1 team, Benetton is everywhere. The family still lacked a fragrance line bearing the brand's name; in 1987, Colors by Benetton would finally bring beautiful olfactory colors to the brand.
Benetton fragrances in the colors of the brand's flagship values
Between the creativity and inventiveness of the young designers at Benetton, it was easy to create a colorful, sparkling fragrance in the colors the brand has been pleased to convey for several years now. Colors, the beautiful fruity oriental, was housed in a bottle with rectangular facets, its name written by hand by the house's marketing specialist, in color, of course.
As for the advertising campaign, it was the occasion for launching Toscani's revolutionary visuals, which would build the brand's reputation and its aura. The advertising campaign for Colors was built around respect for others and multiraciality through the symbolic image of a black hand and a white hand joining together — a core value for a brand that presents itself in every color.
Tribu, Benetton's second fragrance, appeared on the market in 1993 in a futuristic bottle designed by the renowned designer Tamotsu Yagi. The floral fruity fragrance offers a fine originality built around the brand's flagship concept, the richness of diversity. The idea is not based on ethnic divisions, but rather on each of our belonging to cultural tribes, according to Benetton.
Then in 1997, the two fragrances Hot for women and Cold for men appeared timidly on the market. Benetton was in the midst of an advertising crisis, as Toscani's visuals were now shocking and outraging far more than they were capturing attention. Yet Hot and Cold, two fresh and original citrus fragrances, delivered on their promise...
In 2014, the brand managed to reinvent itself with the launch of the three fragrances in the United Dreams range, named faithfully after the brand's values: Love Yourself, Live Free and Stay Positive. With these three fragrances, Benetton made a resounding comeback in perfumery and issued a call that this time was heeded: instead of dreaming your life, live your dream. The Benetton empire has certainly not finished surprising us!