CLOTHES FOR HUMANS.
UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON LAUNCHES A BRAND NEW CREATIVE PLATFORM

 
Ponzano, 27 July 2016. Far away from fashion stereotypes real moments and real emotions are what life is all about. That’s the message behind clothes for humans, the brand new United Colors of Benetton product and marketing philosophy. Starting from this summer, Clothes for Humans will be the unifying force behind three product lines, a global campaign, a brand new website and a series of in-store initiatives and materials, including the "magalog", a hybrid between a magazine and a catalogue that will be distributed in Benetton stores worldwide.
 
Clothes play an important emotional role in our lives. Every morning, when we choose what to wear, we are deciding what our personality will be for the day ahead and how our feelings will be attuned to the different moments that await us. The clothes for humans philosophy starts from here: Benetton’s clothes should empower people to express their emotions and get the most out of the experiences they live. Dress Up: the smart elegance for work and special occasions. Dress Down: the relaxed style for every moment of the day. Dress to Move: functional garments for a sporty lifestyle. The three product lines, like all future collections, revolve around knitwear, one of three brand pillars that Benetton intends to focus on and add value to through all its activities. The other two are color and social commitment, which are also part of the brand heritage.
 
Reflected by the three new product lines, the clothes for humans philosophy comes to life this summer as a creative platform characterized by a core idea – that Benetton explores the most honest and ‘human’ moments of emotion that are relevant to clothing – conveyed through a fresh, quirky tone of voice. Both the idea and the tone of voice will be applied across each of the brand’s communications channels.
 
The clothes for humans product and marketing philosophy will applied globally to:
- magazines
- digital media
- Benetton properties and social channels
- Stores
- Out of home events

 
The advertising campaign shows diverse, genuine and expressive real people: a woman eating take away food in front of an empty open fridge, a group of girls drinking wine at an informal party, two young siblings cutting each other’s hair. The lightning is authentic and so are the locations: real homes, which feel warm, contemporary but also ubiquitous, just like Benetton’s global customers. In fact, the campaign will be published worldwide, online and offline, and the creative concept will be applied also to a series of short video episodes to be distributed on digital channels.
 
Today, the Italian clothing brand releases its new website benetton.com, in which a simple but contemporary design will take on the task of letting current and new customers into the Benetton world. A section called Identity will introduce the user to the three elements identified as brand pillars - knitwear, color and social commitment – while another section called Clothes for Humans will present the new design philosophy and help the customers match their mood with the three lines of clothing: Dress Up, Dress Down and Dress to Move. A renewed online shop will also allow them browse and buy quickly and efficiently.
 
Benetton stores will change following the current design direction. Signage, design and communication materials will evolve to turn the shopping experience itself into a truly human moment, in which everyone – especially young women – will be able to isolate themselves from the background noise of status updates and filtered photos, and eventually reconnect to their own emotions, also thanks to Benetton clothes.

 
In Benetton stores, customers will also be able to pick up the magalog called clothes for humans, a hybrid between a magazine and a catalogue that continues Benetton’s long tradition of avant-garde editorial products. Inside the publication, Benetton’s collection images will be interspersed by in-depth photographic stories about what people wear in different parts of the world: from where the first school uniform was born to how women style their hijabs in Iran and why boys usually dress in blue and girls in pink.

 
“Humans. Some are happy. Some are sad. Some are both. We make clothes for all of them,” reads the manifesto that sums up the clothes for humans philosophy. Embracing people’s emotions may be a natural and yet substantial step ahead for Benetton, the brand that perhaps more than any other has been with the people, all of them, regardless of their individual differences.