Franca Sozzani, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, has passed away after suffering from an undisclosed year-long illness. She was just 66 years old.“Franca was one of the greatest editors who ever made a magazine,” Condé Nast International’s chairman and chief executive, Jonathan Newhouse, wrote in a post on Vogue Italia's site today. “She was by far the most talented, influential and important person within the Condé Nast International organisation. She made Italian Vogue a powerful and influential voice in the worlds of fashion and photography by publishing ground-breaking photography and journalism."Sozzani started her career in 1976 at Vogue Bambini, followed by stints at Italian women's fashion title Lei and its men's fashion brother title, Per Lui. She then landed at Vogue Italia, where she nabbed the editor-in-chief role in 1988. ( That same year , Anna Wintour assumed the top role at American Vogue.) The editor's sister, Carla Sozzani, is also in the fashion fold: She owns the Milan boutique 10 Corso Como.A beloved industry figure, Franca Sozzani was known for highlighting emerging talent and repeatedly tackling topics like race in the glossy's pages, most notably with the 2008 "Black Issue." Beyond over a quarter-century helming Vogue Italia, Sozzani received a Legion of Honour from former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012; she also served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N.'s "Fashion 4 Development" initiative.