[1] Founded in 1991 "as a way of communicating the intelligence of the Benetton brand to an extremely sophisticated consumer",[2] it was published worldwide in multiple bilingual editions.

Since the early 1990s, Colors has maintained a global, humanistic outlook in its coverage of issues from AIDS to shopping; from 2001 onward, it became totally serious, and the only element that remains from its inception is the use of photo-journalism.

La Vanguardia, a Spanish daily, described it as one of the trendiest cultural magazines on the world scene.

Colors has held exhibitions in Florence, Rome, Naples, London, Istanbul, Madrid, Barcelona, Maastricht, Budapest, San Francisco, Luxembourg, Santiago, Mexico City, Bogotá, Shanghai and Sydney.

Colors also produced the documentary Rocinha, Daylight of a Favela, about slum outside Rio de Janeiro populated by hundreds of thousands of people trying to lead normal lives.