>> Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani took home the grandest honor France has to offer on Wednesday when she was inducted into the Legion of Honor — and she chose a distinctly Italian dress for the occasion.
Sozzani donned one of the black-and-gold embroidered dresses Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana sent down the runway during their Fall 2012 show, and allowed French president Nicolas Sarkozy to affix her new legion pin to it in the ceremony this afternoon. She follows in the footsteps of American Vogue's editor Anna Wintour, who wore a Chanel couture suit that had been on the runway less than 24 hours before her induction ceremony last year. But even if Wintour hadn't won the award, Sozzani would still be in good company. This year's other inductees included actress Michelle Yeoh and pianist Aldo Ciccolini.
The newly knighted editor told Interview in a recent profile that she's successful because she's always had the freedom to experiment and do what she wants to do with her magazine.
"Everybody can give me their suggestions, but at the end, the final risk is mine because it's my name on the magazine. So I only do what I really feel. Everybody tries to influence you, of course . . . I listen, but I must go my own way."
