Fashion legend Andre Leon Talley has died aged 73.
The former US Vogue editor-at-large passed away on Tuesday (18.01.22) at White Plains Hospital, TMZ reports.
A cause of death is not known at this time.
The influential fashion journalist and stylist was known for his larger-than-life personality and loud personal style.
Following stints at Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine and Women’s Wear Daily, Andre quickly worked his way up the ranks at fashion bible Vogue, going from fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, to the first African-American creative director from 1988 to 1995.
Andre was appointed the role by Vogue icon Anna Wintour.
In 2020, he released his memoir, ‘The Chiffon Trenches’, in which he told tales about famous fashion figures, including Anna, 72, and the late Karl Lagerfeld, the latter of whom he claimed “could have decimated my reputation in fashion.”
Anna and Andre fell out in 2018 when she replaced him with a YouTube star for the red carpet interviews at the Met Gala and he was still hurt about the snub years later.
He said: “If Anna had called and said, ‘André, we’re thinking of going in a different direction [for the Met ball], it’s important for our brand,’ I would have said, ‘Fine. That’s great.’ And I’d have come in my Tom Ford cape – I always wear Tom Ford – and enjoyed my dinner.
“It felt like I was just thrown under the bus. It hurt!”
Designer Diane von Furstenberg was among those to pay tribute to Andre.
She wrote: “Good bye darling André.
“No one saw the world in a more elegant and glamorous way than you did.
“No one was more soulful and grander than you were… the world will be less joyful now. I have loved you and laughed with you for 45 years… I will miss your loud screams and your loyal friendship… I love you soooo much. (sic)”
