Facing a gin and tonic, with a bold visage of purple glasses and a greedy smile, Italian Oliviero Toscani spent a good five seconds chiseling out his formula: "Luciano Benetton is my Lorenzo de' Medici." Then he burst out laughing. It was 1998, in Ponzano, near Treviso in northern Italy, where the famous colorful clothing brand has its factories. Luciano Benetton was his patron, a fascinating character.

Photographer, art director, publicist, artist, polemicist, guru, farmer (150 hectares in Tuscany), olive oil maker, appaloosa horse breeder ... Toscani died on Monday, January 13, following a rare illness, in Livorno, Tuscany. He was 82 years old. "Keep dreaming," said the Italian firm.

From 1982 onwards, for almost 20 years, this Milanese artist created advertising images for the Benetton brand that were as innovative as they were scandalous. Never before, to our knowledge, had a visual artist shaped the image and style of a company with thousands of stores worldwide. "I've never said no to Oliviero," said Luciano Benetton, founder of the brand that bears his name in 1965, and now 89. It wasn't all smooth sailing between them, far from it. But Toscani was Benetton's henchman. And Benetton was Toscani's protector.

You have 83.69% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.