Italians Do It Better.

Let's try and forget about Anna and her American Vogue empire for just a second. In terms of provocative, artistic achievement Italian Vogue is the true top of the fashion magazine heap. It has been for years. The cover of the Italian edition of the fashion bible has launched a thousand models' careers from Kristen McMenamy to Karen Elson. The partnership of the publication and photographer Steven Meisel has yielded shoots as innovative and notorious as Super Mods Go To Rehab, and the all black issue.

Meisel shots from Italian Vogue's all black issue, and their editorial that cheekily sent supermodels to rehab a la Lindsay and Britney.

While Meisel is the maestro in charge of shooting the superb content, none of the magazine's insanely good material would ever come to be without the pub's editor in cheif, Ms. Franca Sozzani.

Sozzani has a surfeit of laudable qualities. She's softer than Roitfeld and eons more daring than Wintour. Her humble demeanor and undeniable talent has won her legions of fashion insider fans and more praise than one can proffer in a reasonable lifetime. Sozzani's sartorial style is as admired as her editing skills. Her soft mane of blond waves compliments her striking baby blue eyes in a way that leaves her looking angelic and gentle. Yet, she dresses like a sharp Milanese woman; her choices leave her looking sophisticated and stunning. Here, watch her talk about transforming the magazine from a trade rag to an international phenomenon over the past 20 years:



She's an icon.