Anyone who has cruised the streets of South Beach knows there is nary a shortage of colorful sights to be seen. The vibrancy pulsating through the town is precisely what United Colors of Benetton tapped into for the recent renovation of its Collins Avenue flagship. The Miami store received a splashy treatment with boardwalk-inspired flooring, pink and turquoise palm tree frescos, and neon-lit starburst chandeliers. Last Friday night, the boutique's new look no longer could be concealed when it was revealed to the Art Basel crowd.
"We adapted the store to South Beach itself—even the name. We call it Benetton South Beach, not the usual United Colors of Benetton," Ari Hoffman, the CEO of Benetton USA told ELLE.com. "It's an exception we made for a very special location." And why did the Italian chain designate Miami for its hub? "It's a meeting point for North America, South America, and Europe," explained Hoffman. "It's also a place for [feeling] happy and [having] fun."
That same sunny, cheeky attitude was also channeled into a limited-edition, fruit-inspired collection of glass sculptures, coined Tutti Frutti, by Benetton’s design and research lab, Fabrica. Fabrica is a year-long incubator program, in which emerging designers—all under the age of 25—are trained by noted director Sam Baron.
Judging from the innovative hand-blown glass pieces (on display only) in the form of strawberries, apples, pomegranates and more, the kids are doing alright. David Raffoul, who hails from Beirut, Lebanon, created an apple tree named Sin. "[It] works with the system of temptation stemmed from Adam and Eve," he said of the single red apple hanging from a stand. On the other side of the spectrum is French-artist Charlotte Juillard, who created a chandelier installation. "It's not so functional as it is representative of the architecture of this city," she explained. "It's like a rain of strawberries!" Temptation and the tropics? Sounds very Miami, indeed.
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