The United Colours (Benetton)

Member Name: TigerTiger

Product:	Benetton
Date:	22/02/01 (1404 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bright warm colours, quality, great accessories, nice bags!

Disadvantages: Sadly not so popular any more, some clothes are a bit too bright

Benetton clothing aims to be distinctive by catering in casual clothing for men, women and children, which it markets principally under the brand name United Colors of Benetton. Benetton is traditionally known forit's knitwear and casual clothing in a wide array of colors, featuring fashionable Italian design and projecting a youthful image.Yes, you walk into a Benetton store and there is no mistaking where you are. with Brightly coloured garments everywhere it was Benetton alright!

Whatever happened to Benetton, that is my question??? Their infamous advertisements appear to be alive and well, yet the stores are certainly very sparce on the UK high street. When I was at school Benetton was the place that I used to beg my mum to buy all my clothes from, well that and Naf Naf.It was the shop that my friends and I used to want every single item from and we all appeared to be in a competition to see who could acquire the most. Forget FCUK, Benetton had the name on the front of the T-shirt thing covered a long time before! However, gradually over the years I have seen the Benetton stores disappeer from our high streets and I never really understood why.

I was the original Benetton kid alright. I had the jumper, the jeans, the rucksack, the pencil case and even the perfume. However, as I grew older I went off and found the newcomers on the high street like Oasis and Topshop and left Benetton behind. Last year however, I was in France for a couple of days and whilst browsing the shops I came across a Benetton store. I decided to have a look and I was suprised at how many nice clothes they had for me now in my 20's. I thought they had a "Gap" type feel to them, with nice shirts, t-shirts and trousers. I also found that they had a wide range of fragrances and cosmetics, watches, sunglasses and other fashion accessories.

I did find that Benetton are guilty of basing their clothing on women from Italy, instead of the average UK wo
man. Often the clothing was cut on the small size, which was confusing at first as I needed to figure out what size I was.

With so much colour in the clothing, you could be forgiven for worrying about how well they will wash and fade over time. However, using Persil Colour (plug plug) I have not experienced anything negative with my purchases. In fact I have a red Benetton T-shirt that I wear to the gym at least once a week and a year on I have not noticed any colour change and all my clothes are not a pale shade of red as a result of being washed with it either!!

Price wise Benetton are no more expensive than the French Connections and Oasis' of our high street. It may sound somewhat silly, but they always give you nice bags with your purchases and ok, call me crazy, but it beats the traditional carrier bag!

After conducting a bit of research on the Internet I discovered a potential reason why Benetton has gone quiet on the high street. In 1997 they acquired Benetton Sportsystem S.p.A. and the Company has been extremely busy in the sportswear and sports equipment sector with brands such as Prince, Rollerblade, Nordica, Kastle, Killer Loop and Ektelon. Obviously, they found a more profitable market to invade once the bright colours and logos stopped appealing to the mass market. However, there are a few Benetton stores around the UK, you just have to search to find them and sadly there isn't one where I live. I shall just have to wait for my next trip to the continent!

Summary: