Fashion editor and stylist André Leon Talley was one of the most well-respected voices in the industry. After paying his dues in a space where Black and Brown faces were few and far between, Talley made history, becoming the first Black creative director at Vogue magazine.
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As he rose to the top, the man who became known for his colorful caftans and larger than life personality made sure to bring other designers, journalists and artists of color along with him, making space in the pages of Vogue and sharing his advice for staying afloat.
But after a celebrated career, Talley felt he was pushed out of the industry he loved for being too old and overweight. He passed away in 2022 at age 73.
Now, the industry is honoring Talley, who would have celebrated his 77th birthday on Oct. 16, with a beautifully curated exhibit of some of his most iconic looks in “André Leon Talley: Style is Forever,” on display at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Fash Museum of Fashion & Film. In celebration of a man whose style was larger than life, we’re taking a look at the life of André Leon Talley.
Born in D.C.
André Leon Talley was born Oct. 16, 1948, in Washington, D.C. to Alma and William Carroll Talley. He was raised by his grandmother, Bennie Frances Davis, a cleaning woman at Duke University in Durham, N.C. From his grandmother, Talley inherited a deep connection to his faith and a love for all things style as he watched her get dressed in her Sunday’s best for service.
A Student of French Culture
After high school, Talley went on to earn a Bachelor’s in French Literature from North Carolina Central University and an Master’s in French Studies at Brown. But young Talley, who was often bullied by his peers for his love of fashion magazines ultimately dreamed of moving to Paris where he could live freely.
Moving to New York City
Talley moved to New York City in the 1970s and landed an internship at the Costume Institute working with Diana Vreeland. Vreeland, who nurtured Talley’s love of fashion, helped him land a job as a receptionist at Interview Magazine, where he worked for Andy Warhol. Talley knew that in order to get to the top, especially as a Black man, he would have to pay his dues.
“When I got my first job at Interview I made $25 a week answering a telephone, licking stamps and going to the post office with the mail, and my first job at Women’s Wear Daily, I didn’t get that much money, but you start at a low level and you work your way up,” he said in an interview. “The most important thing is experience.”
Making History
By the early 1980s, Talley was on his way to the top. In 1983, he joined Vogue Magazine as fashion news director. He quickly proved his worth and went on to make history, becoming the first Black person to hold the title of Creative Director at the magazine. With that position, he began a close personal and professional relationship with then-editor in chief Anna Wintour.
“Ms. Wintour and I made waves. She was always my biggest supporter. She was very inspiring, and she is inspiring,” Talley told PEOPLE. “Going to work every day was amazing. Everything about it was amazing.”
In 1995, Talley served as Vogue’s Editor-at-Large until he left the magazine in 2013.
A Voice For Black Fashion
Talley knew how difficult it was for designers of color to get coverage in major fashion magazines, and used his position at Vogue to be a champion for Black designers, including Patrick Kelly and Stephen Burrows, whose clothes he frequently featured in the pages of the magazine. He later became a mentor to designer LaQuan Smith.
Talley once described himself as “the only Black man among a sea of white titans of style.”
Fashionable Friends
In addition to his work in the publishing industry, Talley is responsible for styling some of the most fashionable celebrities, including former First Lady Michelle Obama and Cher, who he dressed in a Bob Mackie jumpsuit for the 1974 Met Gala that people still talk about to this day.
A Collection of Caftans
As Talley got older, he became known for stepping out in a collection of colorful caftans, which were a comfortable alternative to tailored suits. In an interview with Garage Magazine, Talley shared that it was designer Karl Lagerfeld who first gave him the idea of making what some people would consider loungewear work on the red carpet. Lagerfeld gave him a dressing gown from his personal collection to wear to a last-minute event, something Talley said caused a scandal at the time.
“Here comes a Black man representing Women’s Wear Daily in a black dressing gown for a black-tie dinner. Little did they know, it was designed by Karl Lagerfeld, so I had the upper hand,” he said.
What Happened With Anna?
After years of friendship, Talley and Anna Wintour found themselves on bad terms around 2020, which some believe was related to things he wrote about his former boss in his memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches.” Talley writes openly in the book about his over 30-year relationship with Wintour, describing her as someone “not capable of human kindness” and accusing her of replacing him with an influencer because he was “too old, too overweight, too uncool.”
But while Wintour probably didn’t like that characterization, Talley defended the book, telling Gayle King in an interview that while he’s loved working for Wintour, he wrote based on his lived experience as a Black man in the fashion industry.
“And so this is a painful thing for me, but it is a love letter about the joys as well as the lows of my life. And the joys of my life have been with Anna Wintour,” he said. “But this book will help unpeel the onion about her. This is about is a Black man’s experience in a very insulated world.”
What Happened With Anna?
Talley called out Anna Wintour again after she issued an apology to Black staff members at Vogue after the murder of George Floyd – an apology he said came out of a world of white privilege.
“I want to say one thing: Dame Anna Wintour is a colonial broad,” Talley told Sandra Bernhard in an interview. “She’s a colonial Dame…she’s part of an environment of colonialism. She is entitled and I do not think she will ever let anything get in the way of her white privilege.”
Financial Troubles
While Talley was known for being an expert on fashion, he was less on the ball when it came to his finances. He filed for bankruptcy in North Carolina in 1997 and 1998, and in New York in 1993, due to failure to pay taxes.
Rental Woes
Talley’s financial troubles made buying a home difficult, so in 2004, he moved into an 11-room home in White Plains, New York, which he rented from owners George Malkemus — former head of Manolo Blahnik USA — and his husband and business partner Anthony Yurgaitis.
But what started as an agreement between friends turned ugly when the owners took Talley to court in 2020, accusing him of owing more than $500,000 in back rent payments.
“Without You, There Would Be No Me”
On Jan. 18, 2022, André Leon Talley passed away in White Plains, NY. He was 73 years old.
Although reports listed his cause of death as the result of complications related to a heart attack, his friend Dr. Yvonne Cormier told the Houston Chronicle attributed his death to COVID-19.
Tributes poured in across social media from those who considered Talley a champion for diversity, a mentor and a friend, including Edward Enninful, former editor in chief of British Vogue, who wrote on Instagram, “R.I.P dearest Andre. Without you, there would be no me. Thank you for paving the way.”
Proceeds from Talley’s estate sale in 2023 went to two historically black churches that played an important role in his life – the Abyssinian Baptist church in New York and Mt Sinai Missionary Baptist church in his home town of Durham, North Carolina.
Style is Forever
André Leon Talley may be gone, but he left an indelible mark on the fashion industry that will be felt for generations.
“André Leon Talley: Style is Forever” is an exhibit featuring nearly 70 outfits from the style icon’s personal collection and gifts from his fashionable friends, including Diane von Furstenberg and Karl Lagerfeld. The collection is on display at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Fash Museum of Fashion & Film in Atlanta from now until March 1, 2026.
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