The former Vogue editor and last of the great pens of style has died at the age of 73 — but his mark, tinged in Chanel and draped in Gucci can be felt in the doors he unknowingly opened for Enninful, Peoples, Welteroth, and Nasr.
Black, beloved, and bombastic voice of fashion, André Leon Talley has died at the age of 73.
The elusive former editor-at-large of American Vogue died at a hospital in White Plains, NY. His cause of death has not been revealed.
Known in recent years for his scene-stealing capes — all created by his best friends and fashion legends (Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, and the iconic Karl Lagerfeld), before that, he made history as the first (and only) Black creative director of American Vogue under the tutelage of Anna Wintour, who he was close with until his departure from the glossy in 2013.
Talley was a rare figure in fashion, not just because of his stature, impeccable style, or southern pedigree — but largely because of his training. He was one of the only people still working, to have been trained by Diana Vreeland who is still arguably, the greatest fashion editor to have ever lived. Her work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Andre as her assistant laid the early foundation for what Anna would evolve into the Met Gala.
Talley writes in several memoirs and has said publicly that the two women who’ve had the biggest impact on his life were his grandmother (who raised him) and Vreeland, who acted as a fashion mentor and mother of style.
Originally from North Carolina, the editor went to Brown University and studied French literature. Early on in his childhood, his grandmother encouraged his love for words and art. Talley’s first fashion show was church, every Sunday.
Because of his presence in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, Edward Enninful was able to ascend to the position of editor-in-chief of British Vogue, a moment, Talley writes in his last book The Chiffon Trenches, brought tears to his eyes.
Holding positions at Vanity Fair, Women’s Wear Daily, Numero, Interview Magazine, and of course, American Vogue — made Talley a one-of-a-kind figure in fashion with the kind of fashion experience that would have allowed for anyone else (who wasn’t Black) to easily transition to a powerful position at a glossy befitting a walking, talking fashion history book, but Talley’s glass ceiling was profound, and he was never able to crack it.
While serving as Paris bureau chief for Women’s Wear Daily, Talley was directly exposed to the ugliness of racism and the fetishism of Black men in the 70s. At this same time, he developed close relationships with Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent, which made him a valuable in-between when trying to infiltrate the inner circle of the creative giants and notorious rivals.
After departing Vogue, Talley was a judge on America’s Next Top Model. He was also a creative consultant for several emerging brands — including the Obamas early in the first leg of their campaign. His list of authored books is as storied as his archive Prada collection: The Chiffon Trenches, Little Black Dress, Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style, A.L.T.: A Memoir, Schiaparelli and the Artists, and A.L.T. 365+. He was also the subject of the wildly popular documentary The Gospel According to André.
In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and went on to mentor and serve on the board of directors for the college. The school’s museum was named for him, with a fashion award to follow. In the past, several designers were recipients of the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award, including Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, Isabel and Rueben Toledo, Diane von Furstenberg, Manolo Blahnik, Ralph Rucci, Francisco Costa and Stephen Burrows.
In The Chiffon Trenches, he writes with a different pen — daring, bold, and unforgiving, calling out the heretics of haute couture who crossed him and applied the kind of pressure that forced him to proverbially “eat the cake.” If anything, Talley left Chiffon as a cautionary tale.
This story is developing.