Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Unites With Benetton in Milan
Benetton
In the early ’80s, during his 13-year stint as Iceberg’s first creative director, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac recruited Oliviero Toscani to shoot a fabulous campaign of portraits whose subjects included Andy Warhol and Luciano Benetton. Toscani, of course, had close ties with Benetton; his prescient social-commentary campaigns for the Benetton brand were unprecedented, wildly controversial, and hugely successful—woke before woke was woke.
Well, what comes around goes around. Tonight Toscani and Benetton were in the audience as De Castelbajac, who was called up by Toscani for the gig, presented his first collection for Benetton in Milan. Benetton claimed this was its first-ever fashion show—although it did stage a retrospective show in Paris for its 40th anniversary, in 2007. But there was only one story on everyone’s mind today, and De Castelbajac addressed it preshow over the PA system.
“Today the maestro Karl Lagerfeld passed away. He has always been a huge inspiration for all of us. Tonight we pay a tribute to him. He will always stay in our heart. Merci Karl,” he said.
The show that followed was fun and bright, and it served as a reminder that Benetton—although quiet of late—still has some serious chops. De Castelbajac mixed modern references such as rainbow Velcro chest protectors, multipocketed tactical vests, quilted tees, and worn-over-the-shoulder piumini with signature house pieces like blanket-paneled denim duffle coats, rugby shirts, and some deeply inventive knits, including buttoned jodhpur pants for women. The rainbow-paneled puffer pieces at the beginning were reflected in the crazy sheep pieces at the end, as a reminder, De Castelbajac said, of the company’s near farm-to-garment vertical integration. In the middle of the runway, Benetton artisans steamed, shaped, sewed, and packed their knits, just as they do at the Veneto HQ. There were graphic quirks via blissed-out Mickey Mouse prints and a collection of T-shirts featuring environmentally minded Peanuts cells by Charles M. Schulz, who, like Benetton, espoused environmental causes before they were mainstream.
Stepping back, you can see why Benetton, a brand that has been in business since 1965, is suddenly holding seasonal fashion shows. The past decade has seen it supplanted by fast fashion; if you want a piece of cheap-but-reliable knitwear today, the first thought is surely of Uniqlo. Benetton, however, has long held values that have become much more widely embraced today. If these shows can help deliver that message, the brand might well find itself back at the center of fashion’s conversation and the object of wider desire.
As De Castelbajac observed backstage: “The DNA of Benetton and mine have many similarities. The knitwear was my expertise with Iceberg in the 1980s, and the color is something we both have in common. This meeting between us is happening at the right moment, too, because this idea that desirable things can be of good quality and be affordable to many people is very interesting now…Benetton has been sleeping a little bit. But it has all this sleeping potential. And its base is very strong.” Benetton, it’s fair to say, is back via De Castelbajac.
