UNHATE DOVE for Tripoli

COLORS, the magazine “that talks about the rest of the world” will donate the UNHATE DOVE (an art installation made by Fabrica) to Tripoli, Libya tomorrow on Saturday 24 December 2011. This is their Independence Day, which the Libyan people are celebrating again for the first time in 42 years.



COLORS magazine gives the UNHATE DOVE to the city of Tripoli as a sign of peace and hope. The large, dove-shaped sculpture is covered in over 15,000 bullet cases picked up in the world’s “hot spots”. They were mounted on to the dove in the University of Tripoli.

Backstage at the University of Tripoli

Work in progress

The bullet cases were collected by COLORS from the hands of children, from operating rooms in war-zone hospitals, from the mothers of young men killed during revolutions, from the victims of persecution. From people who live in areas where armed conflicts seem to run on endlessly.

Argentina

Palestine

This “war waste” is also the theme of WITH LOVE, a COLORS special issue telling the stories of imprisoned lives that do not have the freedom to choose on which side to stay. There are love stories, too, of those who hold out in order to defend life.



WITH LOVE is available in four bilingual editions: English + Italian, French, Spanish or Arabic. This issue will also be available in digital form to facilitate even wider circulation.

For more information please visit Colors Love and the Unhate Foundation.

“PIN UP” the knit that enhances your curves

United Colors of Benetton is about to single-handedly alter all preconceived notions about the sweater by launching "Pin Up".

There is no need anymore to hide under those loose winter knits! United Colors of Benetton’s new exclusive knitwear technology called “Pin Up” will have women embracing their curves from now on.

Sure, everyone knows sweaters are comfortable, and offer necessary protection against nature’s elements, but did you ever consider a sweater for a romantic date or as a way to show off your God-given curves?



As the leaders in knitwear, Benetton designers considered the 3-dimensional form when developing the technology for “Pin Up”, allowing its wearer to stay ahead of the curve by enhancing the bust and waist. The magic-making technique eliminates the extra fabric that can conceal a woman’s sultry curves and adds carefully placed stitching that is nearly invisible to the naked eye.



Don’t take our word for it; the alluring knits need to be worn to fully comprehend just how they’ll compliment the figure.

The sexy “Pin Up” sweaters are offered in an inspiring variety of designs and colors, so that everyone can find the perfect figure-flattering style. Styles include a short sleeve crew-neck that can be worn under the button-down cardigan. Additional styles consist of a saucy scoop-neck and a more demure cowl-neck. An array of colors will be available, from more neutral ones, such as white, grey and black, to those more fashionable as red, blue and green.

What do you think? Will you wear a "Pin Up" sweater on your first next date?

The collection is available in stores now. For more information: Benetton

UNHATE

With its new worldwide communication campaign United Colors of Benetton invites the leaders and citizens of the world to combat the “culture of hatred” and creates the UNHATE Foundation.

Obama and HU Jintao

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world.
By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased." This quote from the Sutta Pitaka sums up the principles inspiring the UNHATE campaign, which Benetton has created with the aim of contrasting the culture of hatred and promoting closeness between peoples, faiths, cultures, and the peaceful understanding of each other's motivations.

Sarkozy and Merkel

The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders, such as: Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao; Pope Benedict XVI and Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, Imam of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo (the most important and moderate centre for Sunni Islamic studies in the world); the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama and Chavez

These are symbolic images of reconciliation - with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation - to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, even when they are divergent and mutually opposed, must still lead to dialogue and mediation.

Myung Bak and Jong Il

Abbas and Netanyahu

For more information:
UNHATE Foundation
Benetton Press Group

COLORS 82 - SHIT: a survival guide

Feces. Excrement. Stool. Poo. Caca. Its name changes but not most people’s reaction to it. Poo is something we ignore or treat with disdain. It repels us. It’s kept behind closed doors and never mentioned in polite company. But in its new issue, Shit. A survival guide, COLORS looks straight down the pan, exploring the truths behind the taboo, and the reasons why we should start to take shit seriously.



In Japan toilets have undergone a major growth in less than a century: thanks to heated toilet seats and a built in bidet the `Toto´ has become a popular product.
Japanese Toto

But, today some two-thirds of the world’s population have no toilet or latrine. They relieve themselves at the roadside or in fields, contaminating water sources and food. Over 90% of diarrhea is caused by the contamination of food, water, or fingers with shit, and although diarrhea is just a banal intestinal virus for those with a toilet, every year it kills more people than AIDS, malaria and TB combined.

Bolivian `squatters´

South African toilets

Feces is a weapon of mass destruction and a nightmare of biological pollution, but it is also a fuel and a fertiliser. It can heat, feed, cure. It’s the world’s most underrated resource, and it can save lives. In Butare prison in Rwanda, the inmates’ shit is treated and turned into biogas, which is then used to cook their meals.
Rwanda prisoners

The toilets in Christchurch, New Zealand, became unserviceable when an earthquake hit the city in 2011. But the inhabitants got around the problem with a bucket, a pit in the garden and a few sparks of creativity. The resulting `Do It Yourself´ toilets became a symbol of local pride. Take a look at what they created: Show us your longrop

DIY toilets + manual

This issue of COLORS was inspired by The Big Necessity (published in the UK by Portobello Books in 2008 and translated into Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic), a book by the British writer and journalist, Rose George, a former COLORS senior editor.

COLORS 82 - Shit is on sale from October 2011 in four bilingual editions (English + Italian, French, Spanish or Korean).

It is also purchasable online here.

Fair isle inspiration

This winter it´s all about Scandinavian prints, for both him and her.



From a subtle scarf to full on prints on sweaters; there´s something for everyones liking.


Images from Benetton, Blackstone, Clarks, New Yorker, Scapa, Scapa Home and Sisley

Benetton special autumn/winter 2011 collection

For this season United Colors of Benetton has developed an Autumn Winter 2011 special collection which celebrates the elegance of womanhood.

The special collection proposes soft-folk atmospheres with a modern, on-trend attitude. For the collection Benetton was inspired by delicate coloured feathers. These seem to settle lightly on shiny satin dresses, skirts and blouses.
Soft shapes complement the consistency of the fluid, comfortable fabrics.

For those who like classic snake-skin patterns the printed knitwear and sheer georgette offer new, refreshing options.


Comfortable, “intriguing” clothes with different weights and dimensions create feminine and sexy looks. The draping and darts on softly-styled tops and trousers complete your outfit.

Satin gives the eveningwear a sophisticated shimmer that can be found on asymetrically-cut tops, dresses and tunics printed with black-and-white jumbo roses.



For the rest of the collection typically male patterns were used such as the Prince of Wales check and herringbone. Applied to purely feminine styles this contrast ensures simple, well-proportioned looks.

Little black dresses, cigarette pants and, above all, outerwear with tie belts define the sober yet recognisable United Colors of Benetton style.


More info:
Benetton Press Area
Benetton

Friday must-have: Benetton knits

As all of you have probably noticed; autumn has officially started. And these Benetton knits are perfect to keep warm and cosy in this weather.




Have a good weekend!
Benetton

COLORS81 in Shanghai

As you might have read on our blog earlier, COLORS81 published the issue `Transport´ in July 2011.

In this edition COLORS81 attempts to answer questions and gives a veritable “user manual” (and survival guide) about how we can all make our own alternative, sustainable means of transport with our own hands.

Inspired by the `Transport´ edition, the magazine “about the rest of the world” now presents the exhibition TRANSPORT: homemade vehicles from around the world.



COLORS81 showed us ingenious solutions which many populations in the “rest of the world”, grappling with poverty, war or local situations, have long adopted. The exhibition shows all these different kinds of transport, varying from electric robots to solar powered cars and homemade airplanes.





The exhibition is from 6 – 18 September 2011

Hong Miao Art Gallery
50 Shitan Lane
496 East Nanjing Road
Shanghai – China

Gallery Opening hours
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

United Blogs of Benetton

Not just a blog but a super blog where the voices of individual nations meet, an open window looking out on the streets and cultures of the world. This blog is called "United Blogs of Benetton”.



A net of local blogs from the Netherlands, Mexico, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, China, Philippines and United Kingdom (that soon will be joined by other voices from other countries) written in local languages.

The blog reflects the values and the perspectives of Benetton Group declined into different categories and dedicated mainly to a young and dynamic audience: a good mix between local and global.

Visit the United Blogs of Benetton and read everything about Fashion, Tech, Young and Culture.

Out now: COLORS 80

COLORS 80



The magazine "that talks about the rest of the world" blends words with pictures in a completely illustrated edition. The eightieth issue of COLORS celebrates the superheroes of our day: men and women, weak or strong, rich or poor, all united by a common wish: the good of people and of the world. "Real people" who do extraordinary things for others, and who, in different ways, contribute to improving society.

For this issue COLORS has met some real-life superheroes, who face the baddies of our everyday world with courage and self-sacrifice: the damaged caused by the collapse of economies and by rampant pollution, the destruction caused by wars, the poverty of ignorance and antrocities.

COLORS 80 is for sale at newsagents, bookshops and in the App Store in four bilingual editions (English, French, Spanish or Korean).

Benetton goes greener

Thinking green is something a lot of companies do these days but acting accordingly is what the Beneton Group is doing.
In 2011 the Benetton Group will produce six hundred tons of plastic less : this is the green result that Benetton Group will achieve by introducing innovative, lightweight liquid wood clothes hangers – 100% biodegradable and recyclable – in place of the plastic hangers usually used to display garments.

Credits Gustavo Millon/Fabrica
Not only the hangers are getting green also the bags. Since January 2010, customers buying from United Colors of Benetton stores have been taking their purchases home in a craft-white eco-friendly paper shopping bag, processed using water-based inks only, and sourced from an FSC certified paper factory, ensuring products are made using timber from forests that are controlled and managed according to the principles of social and environmental sustainability.

Credits Philip Bone/Fabrica
Making of the liquid wood hangers

For more green information go to the site of Benetton.

Benetton exclusive participant Facebook Deals

Benetton is among the exclusive participants Facebook has selected for the launch of Facebook Deals in Europe:
A new service which offers access to special promotions and initiatives available from the network of the over-3000 Benetton stores in Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the UK.



This new Facebook function allows smartphone owners who check-in to Facebook Places making direct contact with the Benetton world. Receive the latest news, special events, discounts and promos of United Colors of Benetton, Sisley and Playlife brands.

Anyone who surfs the Internet on their smartphone in the five above-mentioned countries (today there are over 200m people worldwide who surf the Web via mobile phone) can “check in” to their location to let their Facebook friends know where they are. They'll receive a message in real time about the nearest Benetton stores and an invitation for events, special offers and promos. They can share the message with their friends via Facebook.

For the debut of the online service, Benetton has chosen a Charity Deal in favour of Architecture for Humanity, an association which applies design and architecture to social projects.



Go to Facebook to become friends with Benetton and receive the promos, discounts and special events on your smartphone.

Benetton grand opening @ Oxford Circus

Benetton reopened their store in London at Oxford Circus, a key crossroad for international shopping. Benetton will reveal a Piero Lissoni-designed new look where innovation goes hand-in-hand with history. Its design concept successfully blends Benetton’s innovation-driven identity, which looks to the future with optimism, with the historical vibe of the British capital.


The store rises through four floors











Visit the store at Oxford Circus in London!

Dutch Patricia and Belgian Kevin for Benetton campaign

After being chosen as two of the 20 models for Benetton, out of more than 66.500 entries from all over the world, Dutch model Patricia Nooyen and Belgian competitor Kevin De Vuyst went to New York to shoot the AW10 United Colors of Benetton campaign.

See here the first images.