The real face of the city

An algorithm helped Benetton create models that reflect diversity.
By
February 10, 2016

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Like a lot of different industries, the fashion world can sometimes have a problem with diversity. Be it ethnicity, age or body type, there seems to be defined guidelines that models who appear in ads or on the runway have to fit within. To promote its new “Carnival Capsule” collection, which was designed to bring together different colours and geometric shapes, fashion brand Benetton wanted to create ads that reflect the diversity of the fashion city hubs it plans to launch in. And since no one model can do that on her own, it made its own.

Using statistical data of the demographics of New York, Milan, London, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin, agency 180 Amsterdam compiled a selection of models to reflect the ethnic makeup of each city. Photos of those models were then plugged into an algorithm, which “averaged” them into a single shot that encapsulated the ethnic makeup of each urban centre.

Below you can see the faces of each city, as well as video that shows all the photos that went into creating them.

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[iframe_youtube video = “Gy3h7uMu40Y”]

Credits:

Brand: Benetton
Agency: 180 Amsterdam