Title:
André Leon Talley: Fashion Icon
By:
Seneca
E-mail:
seneca@excapethematrix.com
Certainly not for his personal style but definitely for his
influence on the fashion industry, André Leon Talley has become a world
renowned fashionista. He is the Editor-At-Large for Vogue Magazine
and has been a regular in the front rows of fashion shows in New York,
Paris and Milan for almost 30 years.
“Whenever I speak to students interested in fashion, I say they shouldn't be above picking up paper clips or making a Starbucks run.”
Raised in Durham, North Carolina by his grandmother and great-grandmother, this style icon says that he first became interested in fashion at age 16 when he used to clip articles from Vogue Magazine. He was told by a family member when he was growing up that being a fashion editor is not what boys become. Nonetheless he pressed on and continued studying fashion in private by flipping through issues of Vogue in his bedroom. He was enamored with the career of Diana Vreeland, Vogue’s editor at the time and who is now legendary.
He received a B.A. in French Literature from North Carolina Central University. He went on to graduate from Brown University with a master’s degree in French studies. He eventually met Diana Vreeland, who became his mentor, when he volunteered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Talley joined Vogue in
1983 as the magazine’s fashion news director. Then he served as creative
director from 1988 to 1995. He returned to Vogue in 1998 as the
magazine’s editor-at-large. He has championed the careers of
several designers during his career and he has often written notes to
designers or made suggestions about their neglect to hire more black
models.
In 2003, when asked during an interview with Essence Magazine about how he deals with racism in the fashion world, he replied that the only time he ever felt racism was from the female staffers while working at Women’s Wear Daily. In that same interview he also says, “I've never thought of myself as important or on top of the world; you should never think, I've made it. Whenever I speak to students interested in fashion, I say they shouldn't be above picking up paper clips or making a Starbucks run.”
“He has…often written notes to designers or made suggestions about their neglect to hire more black models.”
Most recently Tally has become infamous for the styling of Jennifer Hudson in a brown Oscar de la Renta dress for the 2007 Academy Awards. He personally tended to her styling and while it was not a very successful collaboration, he is still responsible for getting her on the cover of Vogue. He is also successfully responsible for the pairing of Beyoncé and a mint green Armani Privé for her 2007 Academy Awards dress.
At age 62 (according to his official myspace.com page), his influence on the fashion world doesn’t seem to be wavering. And he does not appear to be ready to give up the reigns to his larger-than-life and powerful influence over the fashion world just yet.