Influential voice of fashion, former Vogue US Creative Director and Editor-at-Large, André Leon Talley, has died at the age of 73. According to reports, Talley passed away on Tuesday, January 18 2022 at a hospital in New York after suffering a heart attack.
Described by many as larger than life character, Talley was an iconic fashion authority who had a remarkable impact on the industry and used his influence to introduce diversity, on and off the runway. He worked with Anna Wintour at Vogue US for a number of years and his work also famously appeared in brands that include Vanity Fair, HG, Interview, Ebony and Women's Wear Daily.
In 2020 Talley was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Republic which is an award that recognises artists, writers and people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts. He also bagged the North Carolina Governor's award for literature in 2021.
In addition to many other literary contributions, Tally wrote two memoirs. The first is titled A.L.T.: A Memoir which was published in 2003 and the second published in 2020, became a New York Times Bestseller and is titled The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir. Tally was also the subject of a documentary that was released in 2018 called The Gospel According to André. Take a look at the trailer below.
During an interview with The Gaurdian in 2020 Talley was asked if he would have been happier working outside of fashion, to which he responded no.
“My story is a fairytale of excess, and in every fairytale there is evil and darkness, but you overcome it with light,” he once told the Guardian. “I want every person I come across – the stranger on the street, the church member in the pew next to me – to feel love.”
The Gospel According To Andre - Official Trailer
