oliviero toscani

Oliviero Toscani was born in Milan, Italy in 1942 and studied at the University of the Arts in Zurich from 1961 through 1965.

He is internationally renowned as the creative force behind some of the world’s most successful brands, creating corporate images and advertising campaigns for companies such as Esprit, Chanel, Fiorucci, Prenatal and many more.
Through the years he also contributed to the creation of some campaigns of social interest dedicated to road safety, anorexia, violence against women, and stray dogs.
He collaborated as fashion photographer for international magazines like Elle, Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Stern, Liberation and many more.
From 1982 to 2000 he built the identity, corporate image and communication strategy of United Colors of Benetton transforming it into one of the world’s most recognized brands. He also created Playlife, Benetton’s sportswear line.
In 1990 he conceived, created and directed Colors, the world’s first global magazine, making it a cult magazine soon to be followed by editorial and communication forefront runners from all around the world. In 1993, he invented, founded and directed Fabrica, the international center for arts and modern communication research.
One of the founding professors of the Academy of Architecture of Mendrisio, Switzerland, he also taught visual communication at several Universities and has written various books on communication.
In 1999 and 2000 Toscani was the creative director of Talk Miramax magazine in New York.

In 2005, after decades of innovation in editorial, advertising, film and television, Toscani founded La Sterpaia, a renaissance vision of a workshop for modern communication research.Projects include collaboration with public entities and private committents.
Since 2006 he is the art director of ‘Music Box’, an interactive music channel, from which he also conducts “Cameraoscura”, a unique talkshow. In 2008 he curated the communication plan for the 100 year anniversary of F.C. Internazionale and the publication of ‘Inter! 100 years of emotions’ edited by Skira.
In 2009 he curated the exhibition “Workwear. Work Fashion Seduction” for the 75th anniversary of Pitti Uomo.
Since 2007 he is travelling all around the world with his project RAZZA UMANA. A project with the aim to discover the variety of human morphology and conditions. The photographs and videos become part of a multimedia archive and will be the subject of publications and traveling exhibitions.
For nearly three decades he is committed to the project “Nuovo Paesaggio Italiano”, against the degradation of Italian landscapes.
His work has been exhibited at the Biennale of Venice, Triennale of Milan and museums of modern art in Mexico City, Helsinky, Rome, Lausanne, Frankfurt, San Paolo and other cities.
He has been awarded four Lions d’Or at the Cannes Festival, the Unesco Grand Prix, two Grand Prix d’Affichage and several Art Directors Club in cities such as New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Milan. In 2007 he was praised as the Creative Hero at the Saatchi & Saatchi Cleo Hero Show.
The Academy of Fine Arts of Urbino awarded him the prize “Il Sogno di Piero”. He also received the Honorary Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence and Academic of Merit from the Academy in Perugia.
He’s is an honorary member of the Leonardo Committee and of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.