André Leon Talley, doyen of fashion and all things fabulous, dies at 73

André Leon Talley, whose keen eye and sharp wit served the pages of Vogue for more than 40 years, has died at age 73. Talley died of unknown causes at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. according to TMZ, which first reported the news of his death.

Born in 1948 in Washington, D.C., André Leon Talley, a.k.a. ALT, was raised in North Carolina by his elegant grandmother, who inspired in him an early love for fashion. In 1972, he earned an M.A. in French literature from Brown University. His proximity to New York led to an apprenticeship with Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum of Art two years later. Vreeland connected ALT to Andy Warhol and he began writing for Warhol's Interview magazine.

PIXELFORMULA/SIPA/Shutterstock Andre Leon Talley

After writing gigs at Women's Wear Daily, W, and The New York Times, Talley joined Vogue in 1983, serving as fashion news director until 1987. Under the stewardship of current editor in chief Anna Wintour, Talley became Vogue's creative director from 1988 to 1995. He then left Vogue for Paris and W magazine, though continued on at Wintour's tome as a contributing reporter before finally returning as editor-at-large in 1998. He stayed on in that role until 2013, following a rather acrimonious split with Wintour and Vogue.

Wintour called Talley "a generous and loving friend" in a statement included in Vogue's obituary:

"The loss of André is felt by so many of us today: the designers he enthusiastically cheered on every season, and who loved him for it; the generations he inspired to work in the industry, seeing a figure who broke boundaries while never forgetting where he started from; those who knew fashion, and Vogue, simply because of him; and, not forgetting, the multitude of colleagues over the years who were consistently buoyed by every new discovery of André's, which he would discuss loudly, and volubly — no one could make people more excited about the most seemingly insignificant fashion details than him. Even his stream of colorful faxes and emails were a highly anticipated event, something we all looked forward to. Yet it's the loss of André as my colleague and friend that I think of now; it's immeasurable. He was magnificent and erudite and wickedly funny — mercurial, too. Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments, but all I want to remember today, all I care about, is the brilliant and compassionate man who was a generous and loving friend to me and to my family for many, many years, and who we will all miss so much."

Eugene Gologursky/WireImage Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour

A front-row fixture and a destination on the Met Gala red carpet — note how Sean "Diddy" Combs literally kissed Talley's ring at the 2017 gala — Talley offered his advice and connections to many an aspiring fashion savant. In 2008, he advised the Obama family on fashion and introduced the future First Lady to designer Jason Wu, who went on to design her inaugural gown.

Talley was known for his outsized personality as much as his outsize capes and coats, stealing the show in the 2009 documentary The September Issue — yelling about the scale of a butterfly print on the shoulder of a gown to Vera Wang — and lending his wisdom and witticisms as a judge on America's Next Top Model.

Later in life, Talley took center stage in his own life with the documentary The Gospel According to André in 2018 and the publication of a second memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, in 2020. His first memoir, ALT, was published in 2003.

"I don't live for fashion," Talley said in The Gospel. "I live for beauty and style. Fashion is fleeting, style remains."

Author Roxane Gay called Talley "a beacon of style for so many."

Also, among the first to pay tribute to the legendary fashion editor was his longtime friend, designer Diane Von Furstenberg.

"No one saw the world in a more glamorous way than you did, " Von Furstenberg wrote on Instagram. "No one was grander and more soulful than you were. The world will be less joyful now."

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