Benetton’s new creative director Andrea Incontri's latest runway show, held on Feb 25 for the United Colors of Benetton incorporates the concept of infinity to represent the brand's generational history. The linearity of time is transformed into an endless cycle of products, values, and aesthetics, resulting in a continuous flow of apparel and accessories crossing a fully mirrored set. Showcasing complete approach to the vibrant ensemble The show begins with tailoring, including jackets, trousers, and coats in full, tonal colors, as well as houndstooth check or tweed, and ends with workwear, such as overalls, garment-dyed canvas skirts, and jackets with contrasting stitching. The collection features eco-leather, including the vinyl-effect biker jacket, and eco-shearling for plush apparel and accessories, extending beyond the brand's core knitwear.
The colors and prints contrast with the clean, precise cuts, starting with black and white and ending in grey and mirrored silver. Neutral colors serve as the extremes of an endless space of Benetton polychromy, represented in the collection by seven saturated shades: ultramarine blue, primrose yellow, emerald green, hot pink, rosewood red, wisteria, and orange flame.
Rabbit, flower, and the mushroom represent figurative themes
The show's rhythm is marked by symbols, geometric shapes, and patterns whose serial repetition replicates the cycles of nature and industrial production. The organic and spontaneous nature of the former is represented by the show's main figurative themes: the rabbit, the flower, and the mushroom, transformed into stylized designs for jacquard inserts, prints, and patterns.
Accessories such as bags, platforms, Mary Janes, loafers, and combat boots in vinyl or eco-leather, and furry belts, bags, and footwear, complement the apparel. Enamelled costume jewelry reprises the subjects of the prints, adding small, brilliant details.
The show's chromatic metamorphosis drives its evolution, culminating in three-dimensionality suspended as in a frame.
