Franca Sozzani

The latest provocative spread from Franca Sozzani is a lot bloodier than usual.

Scandalous or stunning? Check out Vogue Netherlands's Vermeer-inspired breastfeeding shoot, lensed by Erwin Olaf. {HuffPo} Planning to return your party dress after wearing it out all night? Bloomingdale's has started tagging its merchandise with conspicuous black plastic tags to prevent return fraud. {Business of Fashion} Whew, no copyright infringement here! Miuccia Prada was actually happy to let Giles Deacon use outtake images from an old Prada campaign in his spring collection. {Vogue UK}

Is the Italian fashion industry doomed? These six promising designers would tell you that it's definitely not.

DKNY gave us an exclusive first look at its new campaign, starring the one-and-only Cara Delevingne. Artist Curtis Kulig worked on the campaign and was inspired by the old DKNY billboard, which he considered his personal welcome sign when he first moved to New York. {Fashionista Inbox} Looks like the punk resurgence is still going strong--Nicki Minaj covers Marie Claire in tartan, and sprots a Mohawk in the accompanying spread. The songstress also admitted to some Kanye-like outfit regret over her past looks. {Marie Claire} Attention Jason Wu lovers! The designer's latest Miss Wu collection arrives at Nordstrom today--and with 45 pieces to choose from, you need to check it out as early as possible to ensure maximum decision time. {Fashionista Inbox}

CR Fashion Book gives a piece-by-piece (literally) look into the history of the iconic Hermès Constance bag, which takes 14 hours of craftsmanship to create. {CR Fashion Book} Rita Ora covers British GQ, but where are her trademark black eyebrows? {GQ UK} Dior staged "exclusive interventions" on its social media accounts by people like Patrick Demarchelier and Terry Richardson during its couture show. Wait--can Terry Richardson intervene in our personal Instagram accounts? {WWD} Vogue continues to weigh in on the DOMA repeal by publishing a 2012 speech by Anna Wintour on marriage equality. {Vogue}

When Italian fashion editor and OG street style star Anna Piaggi died back in August of last year, the world lost a true style icon. She left behind countless "doppie pagine" (double page spreads, known as “DP”s) in Vogue Italia--and a treasure trove of clothing. Her clothing collection was supposed to go on display at Milan's Fabbrica Del Vapore culture center, but according to The Wall Street Journal, the plan fell apart, and Piaggi's clothes are now hanging in a storage space awaiting their fate.

Last night's red carpet at the New York premiere for The Great Gastby brought some industry heavy-hitters like Anna Wintour and Jenna Lyons, as well as the megawatt stars of the film like Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio. Of course, they all brought their sartorial A-game. And Martha Stewart brought her gold sequin capris.

So, the well-heeled fashion set continued onto Milan after London Fashion Week, as they do, and mysteriously have yet to run out of outfits. Luckily, after New York, they were prepared for bad weather and Milan's little blizzard failed to put a damper on the city's street style. A look at 25 of Milan's best off-runway looks as we get ready for Paris.

It's not such a stretch to imagine some fashion people as cartoon characters, is it? Here are the Disney versions of all your favorites in the industry, straight from the Barneys/Disney holiday collab.

As we reported earlier, Italian fashion editor and style icon Anna Piaggi died today at her home in Milan. She was 81. Her contributions to fashion

After a five year run in New York, Preen will be hopping the pond and showing its Spring 2013 collection in London. {WWD} Dolce & Gabbana's just-debuted couture line is off to a pretty damn good start as several people literally fainted at their recent show. Though it's likely the fainting was due to the heat, we'd prefer to believe it was due to the collection's sheer beauty.{The Cut} Are you a Betty or a Veronica? MAC and Archie Comics are teaming up for a vibrant make-up collection just in time for San Diego Comic-Con, so you'll be able to look just like your favorite comic book darling. {Fashionista Inbox}

The haute couture shows wrapped last week in Paris, but one last couture collection made its debut yesterday. Dolce & Gabbana staged its first ever

From princess to pauper? Kate Middleton says she'll sleep on the gritty streets of London to raise awareness and aid for the city's homeless. {People} Emma Stone looked breathtaking (again) at the LA premiere of Spiderman. The girl just keeps getting better and better! {Fabsugar} Anja Rubik talks about her new fashion erotica mag 25 and why she declined to do the Pirelli calendar with Terry Richardson. {The Cut} Marion Cotillard is the cover girl for this month's WSJ magazine and she looks good. From the gothic make-up to the slicked-back hair and waist-defining dresses, we're drooling. {WSJ Magazine}

What do you get when you combine two dashingly handsome, charming and well-connected Italian men? In this case, you get Lifestylemirror.com--a well curated content-based website that acts as a portal for online shopping. Last night the site’s founders Emanuele Della Valle and Francesco Carrozzini hosted a party at the website’s new event space in Chelsea to welcome summer, and there was no shortage of free flowing Ruinart champagne and well-heeled friends. It’s no surprise those friends include the likes of Anne Hatheway (looking very gamine with pixie hair and Charlotte Olympia cat flats), Natalie Joos, Johan Lindberg (who told us he wears a scarf, white t-shirt and jacket even to the beach), and Meredith Melling Burke, just to name a few, considering both men were already part of the industry in utero. Della Valle is son of Tod's billionaire CEO Diego Della Valle, and Carrozzini is son of Vogue Italia EIC Franca Sozzani.

We're really sad about Nora Ephron's passing, as her films have all been instant classics. The Huffington Post put together a retrospective of the style, scarves, and turtlenecks of the irreplaceable Ms. Ephron. {HuffPo} Don't feel bad if you don't always understand menswear - neither does Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani! {The Cut} Like all fashion-obsessed people, we can never get enough of AbFab. Check out this preview for the next installment of the British comedy, sweetie darling. {BBC America} Alternative Apparel, purveyors of comfy, stylish, vintagey basics, teamed up with Olivia Wilde on a limited-edition bag that's not only incredibly functional (it can convert from cross-body to backpack), but charitable. They even made a cool behind the scenes video for it. {Alternative Apparel's Facebook/Shopbop}

Last week in Florence at a modern white open space in the Galleria Antonella Villanova, jewelry designer Delfina Delettrez Fendi presented her first ever exhibition. She called it, fittingly, The Delphinarium. At just 24, and having only designed jewelry for the past five years, she's young to be presenting a retrospective of her past 10 collections. If you didn't know her work and talent, it might even sound audacious. But Delettrez is one of the most imaginative talents around--and the exhibition she conceived of to present her jewelry was modest--not to mention clever, inventive, and slightly creepy. With live animals, to boot.

Vogue Italia EIC Franca Sozzani has snatched the title of UN Goodwill Ambassador. She'll be working with industry insiders to promote sustainable development and much more. {Telegraph} World-renowned milliner Stephen Jones will be fabricating fascinators for Raf Simons' Dior Haute Couture premiere. Jones called the collection "exciting, beautiful and new," but wouldn't say much more than that. {Vogue UK} At last year's Webby awards, Anna Wintour told us that "sometimes geeks can be chic," and the rise of fashion-forward online games only reinforces her statement. {WWD} Mary Katrantzou, reigning queen of jaw-droppingly beautiful digital prints, won't, or rather can't, show pre-fall or resort collections because her intricate patterns take too long to produce (hint: four days to make a single print). {Vogue UK}

We're on a bit of a girl power streak lately. We already told you about our favorite ladies who possess both style and substance, and influential fema

Rodarte is designing costumes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic's production of Don Giovanni. {WWD, subscription required} Skechers has reached a $5

L'Uomo Vogue's May issue delves into a topic rarely explored by fashion magazines: World politics. In fact, the whole issue is dedicated to the "rebranding of Africa", and features the unlikely cover star of 67-year-old Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN. According to a press release, the issue will "present a new portrait of an Africa that is positive, creative and confident of its own strengths," in an effort to shed the continent's image of war and famine, which is consistently presented by the media. It's true that those strifes are still a part of Africa's overall identity, but, as L'Uomo Vogue reaffirms, there's much, much more to the continent, such as growing textile and oil industries, fledgling modern cities and a fast advancing education system.

So Anna Wintour (allegedly) may not want Kim Kardashian anywhere near her Vogue, but Franca Sozzani doesn't seem to feel the same way towards Kardas

Jimmy Fallon Gets Modeling Tips from Adriana Lima: The cute-as-a-button Victoria's Secret stunner stopped by Late Night to promote the new VS swim catalogue and ended up giving Jimmy lessons in Portuguese, model faces, and the correct way to pronounce her name. For the record, it's Ah-dree-ah-na... and we kind of want her to be our BFF after this segment. {Styleite} Russell Simmons Launching Yoga Brand: The hip hop magnate, who has been practicing yoga for more than twenty years, is now developing a new lifestyle brand around the "noise relieving" practice. The all-yoga encompassing 'Tantris' brand will initially include mens and womenswear activewear, meditation beads, scented candles, and mats, later expanding to freestanding stores, studios, and restaurants. Though his plan may sound capitalistic, Russell insists he's doing it out of his passion for yoga, not because he's "that kind of business guy." Sounds like Mr. Simmons is smarter than the average yogi. {WWD} Franca Sozzani Didn't Marry an African Oil Tycoon, or Anyone: Dear Internet, can we please get a scarcasm symbol already? Vogue Italia reposted an African tabloid yesterday which claimed its EIC had wed Ugandan oil tycoon Charles Mbire, then said Sozzani couldn't be reached for comment. The Internet took it seriously. To which Franca responded (after several hours of intense, sleepless speculation) that “The marital status [she] prefer[s] is being single.” So... we'll file this as an early April Fools Day prank? {Vogue Italia}

Oh, Vogue Italia. Yet again, the often-controversial, rarely sensitive glossy has taken on an American cultural movement that they don't really seem t

Italian Vogue's "Haute Mess" editorial has proven to be one of the most controversial in the glossy's history--and that's saying something. The spread, published in the magazine's March issue, features Jessica Stam, Joan Smalls, Coco Rocha and other top models wearing over-the-top, flashy clothes with crazy colorful weaves, heavily painted on makeup and impractically long nails while parading through a grocery store and a diner. Many of the looks appear to depict American cultural stereotypes and resembled images from American sites like Nowaygirl.com, which post anonymous photographs of people in places like Wal Mart and McDonald’s with the intent of poking fun at them. This lead many blogs and commenters to sound off on whether or not the spread was racist. The Cut's Hilary Moss chatted with Sozzani about the editorial and the not-so-positive response it's gotten and while Sozzani seems willing to answer the questions, it doesn't seem like she always understands them. Either that or she's giving intentionally vague answers. For example... She says that the point of the editorial was to be "creative and extravagant" and to "push people." Her response to people who felt the spread was racist: