André Leon Talley

André Leon Talley was an American fashion journalist and stylist who also worked as a creative director and author. Born in Washington, D.C., he was raised in Durham, North Carolina. In 1974, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he trained without pay under Diana Vreeland, then wrote for Andy Warhol's Interview, Women's Wear Daily, where he became Paris bureau chief, and W. At Vogue he oversaw fashion news from 1983 to 1987, became the first African-American man to take its creative director role, holding that post from 1988 to 1995, and returned as editor-at-large from 1998 to 2013. He judged America's Next Top Model from 2010 to 2011. His books included A.L.T.: A Memoir and The Chiffon Trenches. He appeared in the documentaries The September Issue (2009) and The First Monday in May (2016), and was the subject of The Gospel According to André (2017). In 2020 France gave him a Chevalier honor for arts and letters.