“That’s one thing that Franca taught me about friendship: Sometimes, you really have to earn it,” said American Vogue editor Anna Wintour today in relation with the tragic death of Italian Vogue editor, Franca Sozzani. She died this morning out of an undisclosed year-long illness that, according to Wintour, left “her mind and spirit undiminished… She lay in a hospital bed, fragile as a feather.”
Mrs. Sozzani had been Italian Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988, and become rather well known for her blend of social issues and fashion. Her most popular issue, the all black issue which featured merely black models from cover to back, was a huge hit, eventually leading to the second (and third) printing of the sold out issue, making it the first and last time Condé Nast — publishers of Vogue — had ever done so. While the issue was a huge hit in both the US and UK, Italy lacked severely in sales.
In response to this, she said, “We barely sold any copies in Italy. It’s crazy how Italy is still behind when it comes to the topic of race. The idea of a multi-ethnic society is something new to the average Italian. I think that many Italians have this fear for the unknown,” and ended with, “I didn’t receive feedback from a single Italian fashion designer regarding the Black Issue. Not a single one.”
Speaking on topics as such, naturally, brought heavy criticism. In 2011 she released an all plus size issue, celebrating models that are, well, plus size. That issue attracted its fair share of controversy, ultimately leading to The Huffington Post writer, Malcolm Harris to calling the issue repetitive. “I will also admit that I have only seen the cover at this point, but it would be extremely interesting if this issue is similar to the previous issues featuring Black and Asian models,” said Harris.
Like the creative and intelligent woman that she was, she moved on and continued demonstrating the blend of social issues and fashion – except not in complete issues. It was a thing she did once in awhile. Before both her “Black Issue” and “Plus Size Issue”, she commonly had spreads such as her infamous “Makeover Madness” one, which was shot entirely by Steven Meisel and depicted the wonderful Linda Evangelista in a variety of compromising surgical situations whilst in stunning designer gowns.
How could I forget the highly controversial State of Emergency shoot, which had some calling the shoot “the degradation of women” or “how misogynistic the shoot was”? The shoot had models in, of course, gorgeous designer gowns while they were being arrested in a rather rough way. The photos showed model having their necks stomped on, thrown in the floor, shooting in a range. It was all there.
Finally, one of her many controversial shoots the decade: her Water and Oil shoot by Steven Meisel, which was commentary on the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. Franca, in response told Huffington Post writer Lisa Orkin Emmanuel, “The message is to be careful about nature. Just to take care more about nature. … I understand that it could be shocking to see and to look in this way these images.” Refinery29 writer, Taylor Combs, had previously said, “As beautiful and provocative as they are, we can’t help but feel uneasy. Creating beauty and glamour out of tragedy seems quite fucked up to us, not to mention wasteful and hypocritical, seeing as thousands of dollars of luxury clothing was flown in, and then subsequently ruined for the shoot. Glamorizing this recent ecological and social disaster for the sake of ‘fashion’ reduces the tragic event to nothing more than attention-grabbing newsstand fodder.”
While Franca Sozzani leaves a remarkable and controversial career behind, there is no denying that she was one of the last editors to take the amount of risks that she did. She spoke fiercely through each Italian Vogue issue and for that, she should be celebrated. Rest in peace to one of my very own inspirations — to someone who’s inspired me in every aspect, Franca Sozzani.
