Franca Sozzani to Speak at Harvard

By Emily Gyben 03/23/12 at 02:30 PM

Photo: Getty Images

Franca Sozzani will speak at Harvard.

What do you do when you get writer’s block? Well, if you’re Franca Sozzani, you blog about it.

The Vogue Italia editor in chief (and prolific blogger!) has been tapped to speak at Harvard University on April 2, along with Arianna Huffington and Amber Valletta, on the subject of body image and the media.

“It cannot possibly be a simple ‘little speech,’ as it will touch important issues related to health and the possible responsibilities of fashion towards what women think is the right body image: thinness,” wrote Sozzani in a blog for StyleList. “I focused on this the whole weekend.

“It's a commitment and nothing must be left to chance,” she continued. “You speak and know that each word carries weight and consequences. It's a matter of seriousness, especially in front of a young audience. You may influence or annoy them, but you must in any case keep them interested.”

Sozzani will, naturally, be posting her speech in its entirety on her Vogue.it blog on April 3, so expect plenty of her signature candor and outspokenness.

“Statements carry along reactions,” she wrote, “and this is the good side of communicating in ‘real time’!”