Gilberto Benetton, 77, co-founder of Benetton, is dead. Gilberto, along with siblings Carlo, Luciano and Giuliana, founded the Benetton knitwear company in 1965, transforming it into a global brand.
Italian brand Benetton is known as much for its shock factor ad campaigns as its colorful knitwear. The family-owned company has supported sports centers, building restoration and travelling art exhibitions that reflect the brand’s core values of social justice and sustainability.
Benetton is one of Europe’s most controversial fashion brands. Its shock advertising campaigns — whose memorable images included a priest and a nun kissing, and a baby still attached to the umbilical cord — made it a household name. It rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s with its brightly colored clothing.
The group is facing challenges, both from newer competitors such as Zara, H&M and Uniqlo, and the explosion of e-commerce. The plan is to go back to Benetton’s original premise of mid-priced clothes for the long term.
The brand will see a reissue of its most iconic lines, harking back to the days when the family-owned company was selling its brightly colored jumpers in more than 100 countries. The brand is reissuing a unisex collection of T-shirts, logo-embroidered baseball caps and branded nylon bumbags.
