Andre Leon Talley dead at 73 – Former Vogue editor passes away in White Plains, NY, as fashion icon mourned
EX-VOGUE chief Andre Leon Talley has passed away Tuesday at the age of 73.
Talley passed at a hospital in White Plains, New York. His cause of death is currently unknown.
Talley was an iconic force in Vogue’s success in the 1980s and 90s, working his way to becoming the news director from 1983-87 before becoming creative director in 1988.
After holding that position for seven years before eventually becoming the editor-at-large until he left the company in 2013.
Despite his departure, Talley continued to contribute to Vogue for many years and even made appearances on the official podcast.
Talley was known for his eye-catching style while also being a trailblazer in the fashion world, using for more inclusivity on the runway, especially for Black models.
He also worked as a stylist for the Obama family during Barack Obama’s presidency and was a judge on America’s Next Top Model.
He’s worked with Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for multiple years and has been considered an icon for the LGBT community.
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Talley never explicitly said he was gay but in a 2018 appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, he said, “No, I’m not heterosexual; I’m saying I’m fluid in my sexuality, darling.”
He was raised by his maternal grandmother in Durham, North Carolina, where he gained an interest in fashion at an early age after watching women in church.
His grandmother encouraged his interests, which led him to attend Brown University to study French literature.
He interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under Diana Vreeland, a legendary editor at Vogue. From there, he moved to Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine and then Women’s Wear Daily.
Talley moved to Paris while working for WWD and was in contact with many powerful fashion designers, gaining him the attention and friendship of giants such as Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.
He’s made cameos in Sex and the City and Empire and even appeared in a Mariah Carey music video for the track, Say Somethin’.
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