Every month I've decided I want to discuss either a designer, influencer, or editor who has shaped the world of fashion to what it is today. Basically I'm giving you a mini fashion lesson, for free. André Talley is a big name in the fashion industry, and I thought it was only fitting that he would be the first person I wrote about as I've just finished his book, "The Chiffon Trenches'' which is a memoir of his life. Though born in Washington D.C to his parents Alma and William, his parents left him in the hands of his grandmother Bennie (Mama as he called her) in Durham, North Carolina. Bennie would become one of the most prominent figures in André's life. As a young boy, André escaped the Jim Crow South through books and magazines. He dreamed of a life attending Truman Capote's legendary ball, and living his life like the figures among Vogue magazine. By the age of 9, André's parents had separated without his knowledge but he eventually put the pieces together. They both frequently visited him but they never had a relationship quite like the one he had with his grandmother. André learned about the world he dreamed of in exquisite details from fashion magazines, and his knowledge is what would make him a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. The history of France enthralled André. He would go on to major in French studies at North Carolina Central University. It would be in college where he would receive a full ride to Brown University (for his master's degree). At this point in André's life, he had decided he would become a French teacher at some elaborate private school. For the first time André was no longer in a restrained environment, he felt he could be anyone. He wrote his first column in Risd After Dark, discussing the nightlife scene in Providence, Rhode Island.
Fashion began to take over his life. That became his passion. With friends he would stay home and create "fashion moments'' as an escape. In 1974, André took the risk of leaving Providence behind and headed to New York. He had already received his masters degree but at the time was working on his doctoral thesis, while being recommended for jobs. André dreamed of working in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A good friend from school's father had connections, and he wrote a letter recommending André to the Costume Institute. Diana Vreeland (who was at the time editor in chief of American Vogue) was hiring volunteers to help curate the exhibit: Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design. André was hired. He was given a metal costume that he was instructed to put together with pliers, he says "it was like a jigsaw puzzle." He put it on the mannequin and Vreeland stopped and looked at it, 2 minutes later he was called back to her office. Vreeland said to him, "Now you will stay by my side for the rest of the show".
Above stands André Talley and Diana Vreeland working on the Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vreeland would become one of the most prominent and important figures in André's life. They would be lifelong friends until her death in 1989.
Diana Vreeland promised to help André get a job, and that she did. He landed a job at Interview Magazine. There he worked for the famous Andy Warhol as a receptionist, answering calls and getting Warhol lunch. At this point in André's life he spent every evening dancing at the infamous Studio 54. ANYTHING could happen at Studio 54, but André went strictly to dance. André was among the elite of society, he had a lot to say and Warhol gave him the platform to do so.
As Diane Von Furstenberg said, "When he was working at Interview he became part of the landscape of New York.'' The first big interview that André ever did was with Karl Lagerfeld who at the time was creative director at Chloé. The interview went exceedingly well. So much so that right after it ended, Karl brought André to his Goyard luggage and started to throw out clothes to give to him. The interview would bring a new friendship to André's life. Everyone in the world of fashion now knew that André and Karl had become friends. Now he would be going to Paris to view the couture collections of Women's Wear Daily. At this point in time, Yves Saint Laurent was a focal point in fashion. One of his muses was Betty Catroux, who would introduce Talley to Laurent. André's first collection he wrote about was Yves Saint Laurent's 1978 collection. Writing reviews of collections is what launched André to the top of the social stratosphere in Paris. André's eye for style, and exquisite writing would land him a job at Vogue in 1983, now under the leadership of Grace Mirabella. Over time André became friends with Anna Wintour, who would become editor-in-chief at Vogue in 1988. Before that she had worked at British Vogue. Talley's knowledge of fashion is absolutely impeccable and would help Wintour to learn about the history of clothes.
What makes André different from so many in the fashion industry is his attention to detail, he understands why certain music is picked, or even why the designer picked a certain location to debut their collection. He connects all the dots, he takes into consideration everything at a fashion show: the music, models, how they walk, the story being told throughout the clothes. André always created shoots for the pages of Vogue that told a story. In Vanity Fair, he had Naomi Campbell being Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind, but titled it "Scarlett 'N The Hood." Making Cindy Crawford a rich widow but going to the funeral in a bathing suit, with a black veil in Vogue. Tying that black veil to Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and director Luchino Visconti who put the women in his films in a veil. André always makes a connection.
Many made snide comments behind André's back due to the color of his skin. But André rose above it all to create the life he dreamed of. He proved to so many that an African American man can make it in the fashion industry, they can sit in the front row, and work at the best fashion magazines. André's advances helped his community to prove that even a little boy from the then segregated South could make it into the Chiffon Trenches.
Of course André still dealt with daily struggles. For instance his weight. One morning walking into Vogue he was basically brought into an intervention. Talley was told his weight was getting "out of control", and he would be sent to Duke Diet and Fitness Center. Since his first time being sent to the rehabilitation center, Talley has returned 3 times. André connected his weight gain to his childhood because his grandmother loved to cook. André mainly gained weight when his grandmother and Diana Vreeland passed away. By the time it was 2007 André Talley was editor-at-large at Vogue under Anna Wintour. At this point he had graced the Met Gala steps for almost a century. But not everything lasts forever. Karl Lagerfeld was known to exile friends, whether he got tired of them or didn't like a comment they made. Karl would let go of decades of friendship after André asked for him to think about getting on board with a hopeful exhibit. Karl would never reach out to André again, and removed him from the guest list for Chanel shows. But after Karl had passed André learned that any time Anna Wintour would see Karl he would always ask how André was.
For 5 years André stood at the top of the Metropolitan Steps, for the first Monday in May. He would talk to numerous celebrities, discussing their looks while it was live-streamed for Vogue. Over the years Talley and Wintour's relationship had shifted. André mattered to Wintour in her very early days. But by 2017, Talley would have loved for Wintour to just say something sincere to him. Two weeks before the 2018 Met Gala, André had realized he never got an email from Vogue discussing his interviews. He called to learn the interviews were now, "beneath him." After centuries of friendship with Anna Wintour, she didn't even send an email to explain this new change. André was deeply hurt but bottled up his emotions to attend the Heavenly Bodies themed gala. On his way home that night he swore to himself: "I will never attend another Anna Wintour Met Gala for the rest of my life." Years of triumphs and revelations in a friendship had come to an end, their friendship was officially over. Even after their friendship had ended, André continued to work freelance at Vogue. Though they are no longer friends, André still attends every fitting for Anna Wintour's Met Gala dress. Even though Wintour shut out André he still has the utmost respect and love for her. André still hopes that Anna will find a way to apologize to him before he dies. Today André is focused on himself through the power of faith, love, and prayer.
I barely scraped the service when discussing André Leon Talley's life, there are so many monumental moments that have occurred throughout André's life. Through all the trials and tribulations that André faced he always stayed true to himself. Living life through the Chiffon Trenches has not been easy, but he has proved it's not impossible.
Disclaimer:
All photos in this post are not mine, they are by exceptional photographers.
All information from this post was brought by:
"The Chiffon Trenches" by André Leon Talley
Documentary: The Gospel According to André
Cooke, Rachel. “The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley Review – the Emperor Strikes Back.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 31 May 2020, www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/31/the-chiffon-trenches-by-andre-leon-talley-review-the-emperor-strikes-back.
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