Italian photographer Oliviero
Toscani, best known for his shock advertising campaigns that
helped make Italy's Benetton one of the world's best-known
clothing brands, has died at 82, his family announced on Monday.
"With immense sorrow, we announce that today, January 13 2025,
our beloved Oliviero has embarked on his next journey", said the
statement signed by wife Kirsti Toscani and the couple's
children Rocco, Lola and Ali.
"We kindly ask for discretion and understanding at this time",
said the note.
Toscani, whose career spanned six decades, was admitted to
hospital Friday in the Tuscan town of Cecina, near his country
home, in a critical condition.
On Saturday, he lost consciousness.
Back in August, the photographer had revealed to newspaper
Corriere della Sera that he had a terminal disease called
amyloidosis and did not know how long he had to live.
Amyloidosis is a rare disease characterized by a build-up of
abnormal protein deposits in the body.
"I've lost 40kg in a year...I don't know how long I have left to
live, but I'm not interested in living like this anyway", he
said, adding that he was thinking of calling his friend Marco
Cappato, a right-to-die activist who has accompanied many
Italians to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland despite assisted
suicide being officially banned in Italy.
Toscani. was born on February 28, 1942.
He followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a
photographer, studying in Zurich and pursuing a long career
which he described in his 2022 book "I've Seen It All. Life and
Fortune of a Situationist".
In it, he highlighted the world he would have wanted and
imagined, with a focus on issues such as the environment,
immigration and racism.
Throughout his career, he worked for prominent fashion magazines
such as Elle, Vogue, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, helping to
launch models including Monica Bellucci and photographing greats
such as Andy Warhol, John Lennon and Federico Fellini.
However, he achieved worldwide renown in particular the 1980s as
creative director for Benetton, the family-owned fashion brand.
Toscani courted controversy with Benetton photo campaigns
showing an AIDS sufferer as a pietà and three identical hearts
labelled black, white and yellow, as well as others against war
and capital punishment.
Other provocative snaps included a cheeky jean-clad backside
captioned "whoever loves me, follow me," a kiss between a priest
and a nun, the faces of men condemned to death, and the body of
a woman eaten up by anorexia.
Talking about his long career, Toscani said that he wanted to be
remembered "not for any one photo but for my whole work, for the
commitment".
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