The photographer Oliviero Toscani, known for his campaigns for Benetton, died on 13 January has revealed throughout his career clichés 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.
“Advertising photography should not sell a product, it should sell an idea,” 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.
When he joined Benetton in 1982, his career took a new turn. The challenge to deliver a message. Racism, inclusion, death penalty, HIV, religion, women’s cause… a true social manifesto. Adored by progressives and criticized by well-wishers, the artist’s sultry campaigns for Benetton propelled the Italian brand image into a sphere that was unexploited by the fashion industry at the time.
Diversity and inclusiveness, a key topic of Oliviero Toscani
For the fall-winter 1984 collection, Oliviero Toscani unveiled its first campaign «All the colors of the world». 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.
The 1989 winter campaign is called “Breastfeeding” and features a black woman nursing a white baby. In addition to diversity, this photograph advocates a certain feminism, at a time when women’s 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 “Children on the pot” were photographed.
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Featured photo : © Oliviero Toscani – Benetton
