Franca Sozzani helmed Italian Vogue for almost 28 years. Despite being in the thick of business she never allowed her world view to narrow down. She managed to look at fashion through the frame of an artist, whose purpose was to capture the zeitgeist of an era through her creative, conversation-inducing and controversial visual narratives. Explaining her understanding of fashion, Franca told British newspaper, Telegraph, in 2013 “ Fashion is not only about a piece of fabric. If you think about all the fashion movements we have had in the years, they came from a situation that’s social, economical and political. So why should we not reflect our time?”.
She was a true polymath who nurtured the careers of photographers such as Bruce Weber, Paolo Roversi and Steven Meisel. And her collaborations resulted in some of the most iconic fashion shoots.
Here are a few shoots commissioned by her, which reflected the time in the finest of couture!
1. ‘Makeover Madness’ shot by Steven Meisel (2005) – The controversial shoot featured supermodels Linda Evangelista, Missy Rider and Jessica Stam. Looking glamorous in the finest of couture pieces they were placed on operating tables, giving an impression as if they are going under the knife. Needless to say, it was one of the first fashion shoots which went out and loud on the issue of plastic surgery.
2. ‘State of Emergency’ shot by Steven Meisel (2006) – The shoot came out at a time when the US was celebrating the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It featured models Hilary Rhoda & Iselin Steiro impersonating terrorists, handcuffed and held at gun point by policemen.
3. A Black Issue (2008) – Franca in an interview with Reuters in 2008, said “America is ready for a black president, so why are we not ready for a black model?”. The same year in July came the most avant-garde issue of Italian Vogue titled ‘A Black Issue’. It was inspired by Obama’s ascendency as the US Democratic party’s presidential candidate. Once again, shot by Steven Meisel the issue featured prominent black models such as Tyra Banks, Alek Wek and Pat Cleveland. The magazine also contained features on personalities of world fame such as Michelle Obama and filmmaker Spike Lee.
4. ‘Water and Oil’ shot by Steven Meisel (2010) – Through a shoot the revered fashion bible showcased the horrors of 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Steven Meisel photographed model Kristen McMenamy who was dressed in couture, impersonating hundreds of birds killed in the disastrous oil spill.
5. L’Uomo Vogue’s ‘Rebranding Africa’ shot by Steven Meisel (2012) – In a unique yet daring issue, Franca fearlessly dealt with world politics – an issue that seems to be absent from fashion magazines. She put Ban Ki-moon, the former Secretary-General of the UN on the cover. The whole issue was packed with stories of African personalities who have been appreciated for bringing a positive change in the image of the continent.
6. ‘Horror Story’ shot by Steven Meisel (2014) – Titled ‘Horror Story’ this shoot showcased one of the biggest issues which affect women worldwide i.e domestic violence. Inspired by the scenes from cult classics such as “The Shining” and “American Psycho,” it depicted the models running away from men, holding knives and scissors. Talking about her shoot she told the British newspaper, Independent “This is really a horror show, what we are looking at and what we see every day in every newspaper around the world is how fragile the woman still is today, and how she can be attacked, can be abused, can be killed.”
Credits for the banner: Twitter, Vogue.it
