Franca Sozzani editor in chief of Italian Vogue

Franca Sozzani
Date of Birth: January 20, 1950
Date of death: December 22, 2016
Place of Birth: Mantua, Lombardy, Italy
Professions: Italian journalist, editor-in-chief of the Italian edition of Vogue magazine
Family status: divorced, one child

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Biography of Franca Sozzani

Franca Sozzani's age, height, weight and other parameters

Franca Sozzani was born into an aristocratic family, in which erudition, the desire for self-expression and freedom of thought were considered essential attributes of an educated person. And also good taste, supported by the financial capabilities of an ancient family. The Italian, who loved fashion and everything sophisticated, preferred not to waste her money and wore clothes only from the famous Yves Saint Laurent brand. No more and no less.

After progressing from school, Franca entered the University of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore at the Faculty of German Philology and Philosophy. And in my last year I got a job. Without suspecting that he was laying the first bricks in the foundation of a fantastically fast career development and world fame.

Career and creativity

As a final-year student, Sozzani, quite by chance, while looking through the Corriere della Sera newspaper, came across an advertisement from the Condé Nast publishing house about recruiting university-age girls. Not out of necessity, but out of curiosity, Franka went for an interview. But the proposed secretary vacancy did not cause anything other than laughter for the aristocrat. As she said, her father would not understand such a humiliating choice. However, higher powers, apparently, passionately wanted her to leave the usual paradigm of life. And they gave the obstinate young lady a chance. The fact is that one of the new editorial staff at Vogue Bambini (children's fashion) did not show up for work, and Franke got the position of assistant editor. Sozzani later described her first job with a smile as “assistant to an assistant's assistant.”

Four years later, an ambitious and talented, as it turned out, thirty-year-old young woman became the editor of the fashion magazine Lei, and two years later, in 1982, she received an invitation to the position of editor-in- chief of the men's magazine Per Lui.

In 1988, Sozzani became the editor-in-chief of Vogue Italy, the creator of fashion trends, and in 1994 she began combining this post with the position of head of the Italian representative office of Condé Nast.

Over the years of work in the fashion field, Franka has gained worldwide fame and turned a provincial publication into an international magazine. Paying tribute to the importance of image quality, she introduced the world to such photographers as Ellen von Unwerth, Bruce Weber, Peter Lindberg and Paolo Roversi.

With the patronage of the publishing house, she founded the non-profit foundation Child Proirity to search for and support young talent. Employing the best in the editorial office of the magazine.

She was not afraid of experiments and decisions made contrary to generally accepted patterns. Sozzani didn't just talk about fashion, she created a revolution. With her light hand, foreign fashion designers, black models and plus-size models appeared on the pages of Vogue. Contrary to the expectations of skeptics, circulations were sold out at lightning speed, being printed as they went.

Sometimes the topic of the issue was an acute environmental problem. So in 2010, Sozzani released an issue in response to the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The cover featured Kristen McMenamy, shot on a dirty beach, wearing a Dior fox fur coat with oil dripping from her Alexander McQueen gloves.

The fashion guru has written several books on fashion, design and photography. Among them: “30 years of Italian Vogue”, “Valentino’s Red Book”, a guide to twenty museums of the Florence biennale of fashion and art “Visitors”, a study of blackness in fashion and art “A Noir”, as well as a dedication to British artists “Artists At Work” “

An equally important part of Frankie's life was charitable work. In 2012, fifty-four thousand euros went to HIV funds from proceeds from the MINI Roadster presented at the Life Ball and sold at auction, the design of which was a unique floral pattern, developed by Sozzani herself. She never spared efforts to help those in need and considered her position as a goodwill ambassador for Fashion 4 Development, working with the United Nations on poverty and gender inequality, to be a very responsible job.

For her great services to world culture and her invaluable contribution to art, Franka has repeatedly become a laureate of prestigious awards. She has won Montblanc de La Culture for patronage of various forms of art, La Lupa for a significant contribution to the worldwide fame of Italian fashion, the Ambrogino d'oro for attracting interest in Milan and contribution to its development, and the Order of the Legion of Honor received from French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012.

Personal life

Sozzani had been married for only three months. Family life did not work out. Franca raised a wonderful son, Francesco, whose father, the founder of Club Med, she broke up with when the boy was four years old. The son was her great love, the most important person, the closest.

Cause of death of Franca Sozzani

On December 22, 2016, the fashion legend died of lung cancer. That same year, at the Venice Film Festival, director Francesco Carrozzini presented a film dedicated to his mother, “Franca: Chaos and Creation.” A declaration of great love and tribute to the great editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue.

Photo with Franca Sozzani