1. Franca Sozzani was descended from a long line of aristocratic people, including Princess Catherine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.
15 Facts About Franca Sozzani
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Franca Sozzani studied Germanic languages and literature and philosophy at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, graduating in 1973.
3.
Franca Sozzani married at the age of 20; the union was dissolved three months later.
4.
Franca Sozzani's career began as an assistant at the children's fashion magazine Vogue Bambini in 1976.
5.
Franca Sozzani directed the publications Lei beginning in 1980 and Per Lui starting in 1982 before heading up Vogue Italia in 1988.
6.
Franca Sozzani championed a group of photographers including Bruce Weber, Peter Lindbergh, and Paolo Roversi, Michel Comte giving them complete freedom to choose models and subjects, and encouraging them to experiment with their work.
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Franca Sozzani was appointed editor-in-chief of Conde Nast Italia in 1994.
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In 2010, Franca Sozzani published a selection of her blog posts from the "Editor's Notes" pages of Vogue.
9.
Franca Sozzani provided text for exhibition catalogues, often collaborating with other writers, journalists and artists on publications.
10.
Franca Sozzani died of lung cancer on 22 December 2016, at the age of 66.
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Franca Sozzani was known for including topics and issues in her magazine which other fashion publications avoided, such as domestic violence, drug abuse and recovery, and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010.
12.
Franca Sozzani collaborated with artists Maurizio Cattelan and Vanessa Beecroft on exhibits and performances.
13.
Franca Sozzani curated several exhibitions and retrospectives, including: 30 Years of Italian Vogue, Vietnam Story and My Own Story in Vogue, Women, and Portraits of Elegance, as well as Francesco Scavullo.
14.
In 2012, Franca Sozzani was awarded the Legion of Honour by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
15.
Franca Sozzani's niece, Sara Maino, is an editor at Italian Vogue.