Hailing from a family that has shaped the history of Italian fashion, Sara Sozzani Maino began her professional journey with a desire to find her own voice. After joining the editorial staff of Vogue Italia almost by chance under the guidance of her visionary aunt, Franca Sozzani, she turned her apprenticeship into a career dedicated to discovering emerging talent. For over ten years, she has been the driving force behind Vogue Talents, an international platform that has helped launch some of the most influential designers in the fashion industry, including JW Anderson, Simone Rocha, Coperni, and Stella Jean. She has redefined the concept of talent scouting in fashion. She is currently the creative director of the Fondazione Sozzani and the international new talent and brands ambassador for the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. In these roles, she scouts and promotes emerging designers, serving on advisory boards and international juries focused on innovation and sustainability in fashion. She combines these activities with a commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of creatives by collaborating with prestigious academic institutions and international programs. At the heart of her work, however, she continues to prioritize what she considers the true driving force of the future: the human factor. In an industry marked by crises, digital transformations, and overproduction, she champions a vision in which creativity, social responsibility, and culture are closely intertwined. In this conversation, she reflects on her career path, her relationships with Franca and Carla Sozzani, and the evolution of the fashion system. She also explains how to give visibility to young people while supporting them as they grow.
Sara Sozzani Maino, Portrait. Photo by Illya Ovchar, 2024
Although it has always been a family business, fashion was never your calling. How did you get into it?
It all started quite by chance. I enrolled in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Milan, but I wasn’t comfortable with the Italian system because I have an international background. Not wanting to waste time, I took a few exams and then I started working with my mother, Carla, at the 10 Corso Como concept store. I was only 19 and I had no clear idea of what I wanted to do in the future. One day at lunch, my aunt Franca Sozzani told my mother, "Maybe you're too soft on her. Send her to me, and we'll see what happens." And that’s exactly what happened. In 1994, Vogue Italia celebrated its 30th anniversary with a major exhibition at Triennale Milano, a special issue tracing the magazine’s evolution, and a commemorative book. I spent about seven months in the archives conducting the necessary iconographic research for these projects. It was then that I began studying the history of fashion and photography since I knew nothing about them. I received on-the-job training, which was a rather slow process. However, it allowed me to gain experience in various departments and eventually led me to work as an assistant to Anna Dello Russo and Alice Gentilucci.
Sarah Moon, Carla Sozzani, 2018
Your interest in discovering and promoting emerging talent has become increasingly central to your work over the years, culminating in the launch of Vogue Talents in 2009. When did you realize talent scouting would be a main focus of your career?
Focusing specifically on fashion and preparing photo shoots forced me to delve deeper into my research and avoid using the usual, well-known names when creating narratives. Since taking the helm at Vogue Italia in 1988, Franca has brought up-and-coming talent in virtually every field, including design, photography, styling, and makeup, to light. However, a generational shift was clearly needed, especially in Italy. Initially, my research took the form of special inserts accompanying the magazine. In 2009, however, the project became more structured and evolved into the Vogue Talents platform. Launched as an editorial project to raise the profile of emerging creatives, Vogue Talents has expanded into an international talent-scouting platform and business hub. It aims to connect young designers with companies, buyers, the press, and industry professionals through editorial features, events during Milan Fashion Week, exhibitions, and networking opportunities.
How has the important scouting work you do changed from 2009 until now?
It has changed significantly. The advent of social media has profoundly transformed the landscape. Today, we’re faced with an overwhelming number of proposals—there’s simply too much of everything. Without a genuine passion for research and and without a deep understanding of the industry, it's easy to get dazzled. What hasn’t changed is my approach. I’ve never made choices based solely on my personal taste. I’ve always prioritized the human factor and the values a project embodies. When we started in 2009, our main goal was to provide opportunities for emerging talent. However, there wasn’t the same focus on production, social responsibility, and ethics back then. I consider a project’s strength and its ability to make a real impact to be more essential than talent itself. If a young person tells me they created a collection simply because they wanted to, that's no longer enough. A project must tell a story, have a purpose, and answer several questions: Who is the target audience? What message does it convey? What contribution can it make, including in educational terms? Presenting a clothing collection just for the sake of it is no longer sufficient.
Sara Sozzani Maino at home. Photo Stefan Gifthaler, 2021
You often talk about responsibility, including your sense of responsibility toward young designers. What does taking on this role actually entail?
