The former magazine editor and friend to some of fashion's biggest names passed away in a hospital in White Plains, New York.

Andr&eacute; Leon Talley, a cultural pioneer and status disrupter in the fashion industry since the 1970s, died on Tuesday, January 18 at the age of 73. His passing was confirmed by his friend <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, who said in a <a href="https://pagesix.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=6018712&amp;action=edit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, &ldquo;Andr&eacute; Leon Talley was a singular force in an industry that he had to fight to be recognized in.&rdquo;<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">As a young man, Talley grew up in North Carolina during the Jim Crow era. After finishing university at North Carolina Central University, he received a scholarship for a Master's degree in French Literature at Brown University.
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">After finishing school, Talley moved to New York City in 1974 to take on an internship under another fashion industry titan, Diana Vreeland, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From there, he snagged a position as the receptionist at Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine. He later bounced from WWD to W to the New York Times, before eventually landing the Fashion News Editor position at Vogue.

André Leon Talley

<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">In 1988, Talley became Vogue's first Black male Creative Director. It was here that the journalist developed a close friendship with the magazine's longtime Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. The pair were a fixture on the New York fashion scene for decades, although the two had been estranged in the years prior to Talley's death. After a three-year absence from the magazine in the mid-90s, he eventually returned as an Editor-at-Large in 1998 and remained until his final departure in 2013.
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">Throughout his two memoirs, A.L.T.: A Memoir and The Chiffon Trenches, Talley opened up about the racism he experienced as a young Black man climbing his way to the top of an elitist (and predominantly white) industry. At Vogue, he championed young Black models and even mentored an up-and-coming <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/naomi-campbell-most-iconic-90s-catwalk-moments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Naomi Campbell</a> who, under Talley's direction, became the first Black woman to grace the front of one of the magazine's September issues.

The ceiling-shattering editor later utilized his talents in other avenues, including counseling First Lady Michelle Obama on her fashion (it was actually Talley who introduced Obama to Jason Wu, who went on to be a go-to designer for her). Talley also served as a judge for two seasons on America's Next Top Model.
While no reports have emerged stating how Talley died, the fashion set has banded together to mourn this industry powerhouse. See some of the tributes below:

Fashion Legend André Leon Talley Dies at 73

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Fashion Legend André Leon Talley Dies at 73

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