#1651 Franca Sozzani on what it means to be Editor in Chief of Vogue

Photo: The Sartorialist

With the fashion world's attention firmly focussed on Carine Roitfeld and Vogue Paris and why she left and where she's going and who will replace her and d'ya think she was fired, Vogue Italia's Franca Sozzani took to her blog to give a rare, not-filmed-by R.J. Cutler view of what life is like as editor in chief of the most powerful magazine in the world.

According to Sozzani,

"There is a tendency to think it's like in the movies and not real. The Editor in Chief of Vogue is at the head of a magazine. A prestigious one. The most famous one in the world, well respected. The Editor in Chief is still a journalist. To work for a famous magazine means that the attention of the media will be on you.

"To build your own image and that of the magazine takes day after day. You build credibility for you and your magazine. You suggest a style, you become the symbol of that style.

"To make your readers and the media interested is not easy. After The Devil wears Prada it is even easier. The real mystery behind the Editor in Chief at Vogue is how she always keeps ahead and avoids being out of touch during moments of change.

"Real creativity, the one that changes the history of a magazine, is and should be the characteristic of an Editor in Chief. It's not about being liked by few people in the business ready to adore you for a favor.

"History is built day after day with a lot of effort. The shows are just a display window, but they are not about having fun. It's work, it doesn't matter what you wear but watching what the designer did.

"The fashion world has a short term memory. It forgets everything and everyone. It only remembers those who have a real value. Artifices only help those who have nothing to say.

"Substance is what makes you go ahead and not be forgotten. We remember Diana Vreeland, the historic Editor in Chief of Vogue America, for her work with Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. The fact that she smoked a long cigarette and wore red lizard skin boots is just marginal. Only for the few fashion addicts.

"It's a difficult job that doesn't allow mistakes. The minute you make a mistake it gets blown up by the media. The same way they applaud you they take you down.

"The only way to make it and survive this mechanism is to aim high doing unexpected and innovative things. Surprising everyone and taking risks. For the sake of creativity and the reality in which we live."

So there we have it. Sounds a bit like being a blogger, only far more stressful and difficult with about a billion times more responsibility.

Franca Sozzani posts regular (and often brilliant) insights into life at the top on the Vogue Italia website.

And in case you were wondering, yes, the man holding her in the photo above is the world's best dressed human being, Robert Rabensteiner.

I LIKE YOU!