Former Vogue Creative Director and ‘ANTM’ Judge André Leon Talley Dies at 73

Martin Holmes
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Andre Leon Talley speaks during 'The Gospel According to Andre'
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SCAD

André Leon Talley, the fashion icon who served as Vogue‘s creative director and a judge on America’s Next Top Model, has died. He was 73.

The news was first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by the official Met Gala Twitter account, which wrote, “Fashion lost another giant today. André Leon Talley, thank you for your groundbreaking work that has inspired so many of us. Your legacy will live on forever. RIP.”

Talley was born on October 16, 1948, in Washington, D.C, and his love for fashion started at an early age when he found a copy of Vogue magazine in his local library. After graduating from Brown with a Master’s in French Literature, Talley apprenticed for then Vogue editor Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before moving on to Andy Warhol’s Factory and Interview magazine.

He went on to become the Paris bureau chief at Women’s Wear Daily from 1975 to 1980. Talley also worked for W, The New York Times, and other publications before landing at Vogue, first working as the Fashion News Director and then as the magazine’s first African American male Creative Director. He briefly left Vogue in 1995 to move to Paris and work for W but returned to the famous publication in 1998 as the editor-at-large.

From March 2010 to December 2011, Talley served on the judging panel for the reality competition series America’s Next Top Model. He also appeared as himself in the 2008 Sex and the City film and in a 2015 episode of the Fox musical drama Empire. Talley also featured in the documentaries Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards and The Gospel According to André.

Tributes began to pour in following the news of Talley’s death. Scandal actress Kerry Washington took to Instagram to share her condolences, writing, “Oh Andre! Heaven is not ready for you darling!!!!!! The whole afterlife is going to be just too fabulous now. Ugh! You blessed us! Sir! You blessed us with your charm and wit and your taste for the exceptional.”

 

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A post shared by Kerry Washington (@kerrywashington)

Meanwhile, ANTM Season 14 winner Krista White wrote on her Instagram Story, “What a Iconic Legend in the fashion world you were! I’m honored to have shared space and time with you. I’ll always remember the words you spoke over me after winning Top Model!”

Krista White Instagram

Krista White Instagram

Broadway legend Bette Midler added, “I’m sorry to say the extraordinary #AndreLeonTalley has died. He was such a force, & believed in the magic of Fashion & its illusions with all his being. His life was a saga of great highs, great lows, the dramatic, the ridiculous, and the endless pursuit of beauty. Love & RIP.”

Check out more tributes below.

 

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A post shared by Milla Jovovich (@millajovovich)

André Leon Talley




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