André Leon Talley had a special relationship with Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue for many years.
The former creative director of Vogue passed away at 73 on Tuesday, Jan. 18, at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y., a post on his Instagram page confirmed. His cause of death has not been made public at this time.
The trailblazer changed the fashion world, serving as Vogue’s creative director starting back in 1988 through 1995. He continued at the company as an Editor-At-Large from 1998 through 2013 when he left the company. He worked alongside Anna Wintour for years and the two had a close relationship.
She broke her silence following his passing in a statement in Vogue’s obituary, “The loss of Andre 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; and, not forgetting, the multitude of colleagues over the years who were consistently buoyed by every new discovery of Andre’s, which he would discuss loudly, and volubly—no one could make people more excited about the most seemingly insignificant fashion details than him.”
Anna’s statement continued, “Even his stream of colorful faxes and emails were a highly anticipated event, something we all looked forward to. Yet it’s the loss of Andre 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.”
André is being remembered by dozens of his famous friends and other people in the fashion industry including Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Oprah Winfrey, Diane von Furstenburg, Marc Jacobs and more.
Andre Leon Talley’s Life In Photos
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