It was one of the figures of American fashion, long number 2 of “Vogue US”. He passed away on January 18, 2022 at the age of 73.
There are many clichés where you can see Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley side by side. Some date back so long that the fashion popess appears without glasses and all smiles. It must be said that the relationship between these two figures of American fashion is not new since the one who was already editor-in-chief of the US Vogue named his sidekick number 2 of the style bible in 1988. André Leon Talley, who was thus one of the first blacks to gain such a high position in a fashion magazine, disappeared January 18, 2022 at the age of 73.
Friend with many personalities in the sector, André Leon Talley is, since the announcement of his death, celebrated on social networks. Many tributes are paid to him by the designer Diane von Furstenberg, for example, who remembers their 45 years of friendship or by Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of Vogue UK.
Ralph Toledano, president of the federation of haute couture and fashion, welcomes him in a press release: “a monumental journalist who amazed you with his analysis of fashion and the whole history of fashion in general. Above all, he is the only person who dared to stand up to Karl Lagerfeld two days before the presentation of a collection. He didn’t let go and Karl listened to him… It’s a scene that has remained etched in my memory”
A luxury version career
Born in 1948 in Washington, André Leon Talley grew up in North Carolina, a state in the southern United States. In New York, he is spotted by Diana Vreeland, then editor-in-chief of vogue American who introduced him to the small world of art and fashion of the time. Through Interview, Andy Warhol’s magazine, and WWD, the specialized journal of the sector, André Leon Talley became fashion director in 1983, then creative director of the US Vogue in 1988. A position he held for several years before becoming editor at large for the title and then leaving the magazine in 2018.
At the same time, he began to write books, which in 2021 earned him a literary award in North Carolina and to be elevated to the rank of knight of the order of arts and letters in France. His latest work, The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir, was published in May 2020. In it, he talks about his career, his friendships, the racism he suffered in the industry and his relationship with Anna Wintour, who he writes is “incapable of simple human kindness“. Having become a real public figure over the years, André Leon Talley, also nicknamed ALT, appears in many numerous fashion documentaries (McQueen in 2018, The September Issue in 2009…), but also in an episode of the series Empire in 2015. He is also a swornAmerican Next Top Model for several seasons. With his disappearance, a fashion page turns.