André Leon Talley, described as a “fashion industry force,” has died at 73. The trailblazing creative genius was the rare Black editor at the top of an industry that was primarily white and infamous for being elitist. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1483709227784937472 Just some of Talley’s many accomplishments via the New York Times:
He was the receptionist at Interview magazine under Andy Warhol; the Paris bureau chief of Women’s Wear Daily under John Fairchild; the creative director and editor at large of Vogue under Anna Wintour.
He helped dress Michelle Obama when she was first lady, was an adviser and a friend to the designer Oscar de la Renta, and became a mentor to the supermodel Naomi Campbell.
He cast Ms. Campbell as Scarlett O’Hara in a shoot for Vanity Fair that reimagined “Gone With the Wind” with Black protagonists long before fashion woke up to its own racism.
He was latterly a judge on the TV reality show “America’s Next Top Model”; artistic director of the online retailer Zappos; an adviser to the musician will.i.am’s tech start-up; and deeply involved with the Savannah College of Art and Design.
At six foot six inches tall and a penchant for dramatic personal fashion (including capes, gloves, and head pieces), Talley was known to be an imposing figure wherever he went. https://www.instagram.com/p/CY5n_zVsLaR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://twitter.com/franklinleonard/status/1483643345960247297 https://twitter.com/Fabulousity201/status/1483644248935256066 https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1483696984129167360
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