While the death of legendary fashion designer André Leon Talley has left many reeling, including his confidant Michelle Obama, it has additionally as soon as once more delivered to gentle how badly he used to be treated by way of the ‘elitist fashion business’.
Talley reportedly passed on to the great beyond on Tuesday on the age of 73, succumbing to an ‘unknown illness’ in a New York hospital. As is to be expected, giant names rushed to pay tribute to the overdue skill, among the ones being Anna Wintour. Wintour ruled over Talley while he acted as editor-at-large of USVogue.
In His Obituary, Wintour Described Talley As 'A Figure Who Broke Boundaries'
Penning in Vogue, Wintour wrote "The loss of André is felt by so many of us today: the designers he enthusiastically cheered on every season, and who loved him for it; the generations he inspired to work in the industry, seeing a figure who broke boundaries while never forgetting where he started from; those who knew fashion, and Vogue, simply because of him."
"Yet it's the loss of André as my colleague and friend that I think of now; it's immeasurable. He was magnificent and erudite and wickedly funny—mercurial, too."
"Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments, but all I want to remember today, all I care about, is the brilliant and compassionate man who was a generous and loving friend to me and to my family for many, many years, and who we will all miss so much."
Wintour Allegedly Dropped Talley For Being 'Too Old, Too Overweight, Too Uncool'
It's a stupendous commemoration evidently, alternatively, as Maureen Callahan of The New York post points out, Wintour was in large part chargeable for Talley’s downfall later in his existence. Allegedly the Vogue icon dropped her former editor for being “Too outdated, too obese, too uncool.”
No longer in the ‘in’ crowd, Talley struggled. In 2018, reputedly broke and alone, André faced eviction from his White Plains mansion. Although the fashion-barrier-breaker claimed that he owned the property, ex-Manolo Blahnik CEO George Malkemus said that he did not, and he accused Talley of owing $500,000 in rent.
As some distance as the public is aware of, Talley received little to no help from Wintour, who had no longer long before fired him as Vogue’s reputable red-carpet Met Gala interviewer, choosing to exchange the veteran with a younger, hipper YouTube star.
Following this slight, Talley sadly stated of the industry that once heralded him a celebrity “Fashion does not maintain its other people.”
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