Benetton at 90: A Life through fashion

Luciano Benetton, co-founder of one of Italy’s most iconic fashion brands, celebrates his 90th birthday on 13 May. His remarkable journey spans the worlds of fashion, sport – from Formula 1 to rugby – and business, including a long association with Italy’s motorway network, Autostrade per l’Italia.

It was back in 1965 that Benetton, born in Treviso, joined forces with his brothers Gilberto and Carlo, and sister Giuliana, to launch the Benetton Group. The company, headquartered in Ponzano Veneto, quickly made its mark producing clothing for men, women and children under labels such as United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors of Benetton, and Sisley.

The brand’s beginnings were modest. Luciano personally drove across northern Italy, delivering vividly coloured jumpers to retailers from Treviso to Cortina. Long before “Made in Italy” became a global trademark, Benetton had already opened a flagship store on New York’s Madison Avenue.

Luciano Benetton also had a brief stint in politics, serving as a senator for the Italian Republican Party from 1992 to 1994. However, his entrepreneurial life has not been without setbacks. In 2013, a decade after signalling his intention to retire, Benetton and his siblings handed control of the company to the next generation. His son Alessandro took over as chairman but stepped down in 2014, eventually leaving the board in 2016 due to strategic disagreements with the family. Francesco Gori was named chairman, and Tommaso Brusò became COO the following year.

An intense life

After a difficult financial period, culminating in a record loss of €180 million in 2017, Luciano returned to the board in 2018 as executive chairman at the age of 83, once again taking charge of commercial operations and communications, alongside Toscani.

That same year, tragedy struck with the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa on 14 August, resulting in 43 deaths and hundreds displaced. The incident ignited public outrage over the concessions held by Autostrade per l’Italia – part of the Atlantia group, in which the Benetton family were major shareholders. Calls for the revocation of those contracts quickly followed.

In the aftermath, Atlantia’s CEO Giovanni Castellucci resigned in September 2019. Two months later, Luciano Benetton published an open letter in Italian newspapers, defending his family and denouncing what he described as a “hate campaign”. He insisted that no member of the Benetton family had ever been directly involved in managing Autostrade, portraying the family instead as a victim of public vilification.

From entrepreneurial success and global influence to political engagement and public controversy, Luciano Benetton’s life reflects the broader transformations of post-war Italy. At 90, he remains one of the most emblematic – and complex – figures in the country’s modern history.

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