André Leon Talley, Fashion Journalism Icon and Former Editor-at-Large at Vogue, Dies at 73

Photo Courtesy Andre Talley ©Intstagram

André Leon Talley, the influential fashion voice that helped shape a generation’s views of what, and how,
clothes should be worn, is dead at 73.

First reported by TMZ, his death was due to complications related to Covid, according to his friend Dr. Yvonne Cormier, who talked to the Houston Chronicle reporter Joy Sewing about their 45-year friendship.

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Born in Washington, DC, but sent to live with his grandmother — a cleaning lady at Duke University — when he was two-years old, Talley rose from meager beginnings to become the first black male creative director at Vogue magazine in the 1980s.

From 1987 to 1995 he, along with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour shared a seemingly symbiotic relationship that helped define high fashion at the time. The relationship persisted even when Talley, who received a master’s degree in French Literature at Brown and once dreamed of teaching, left Vogue and moved to Paris to work for W Magazine.

Talley returned to Vouge in 1998 as editor-at-large, but with cracks forming in his once unbreakable relationship with Wintour, he departed in 2013 to seek other opportunities.

"I had suddenly become too old, overweight and uncool for Anna Wintour," he told People of the divide. "I don’t think she understands what she does to people."

In addition to being a fashion icon, Talley worked tirelessly to increase diversity in the industry. He was proud of the change he was able to oversee during his time at the top.

"I grew up in the segregated South. For so long, no one who had a position of prominence in the world of fashion magazines — in the world at large — was Black, be they man or woman,” he wrote reminiscing on his legacy in the Washington Post in 2018. “But in 1988, Anna Wintour started as Vogue's editor in chief, and when she hired me, though I thought little of it at the time, I made history, too: I became the first African American man named creative director of one of the premier fashion magazines in the world."

Talley, who once described his sexuality as “fluid” was also a titan in the LGBTQ+ community. In 2007, he was ranked 45th in Out magazine's "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America."

He at one timed served as a stylist for former United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during their time in the White House.

Awarded the Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France in 2020 for his contribution to the arts and the North Carolina Award the following year for his role in literature, Talley published several books in addition to his fashion journalism. The last was 2020’s “The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir.”

PBS Taps Chuck D to 'Tell the Story of Hip-Hop'

Kim Metso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Public Enemy frontman and co-founder Chuck D will be telling the story of hip-hop and its role in shaping America over the last 40 years in a four-part series for PBS.

The network, along with its partner BBC Studios, announced the series today on the first day of the virtual Television Critics Association winter press tour.

The series’ — developed by Chuck D and his manager Lorrie Boula — working title is “The Story of Hip-Hop with Chuck D.” Currently slated for a fall 2022 premier, it promises to “trace the story of this globally influential art form over the past 40 years up to today” and will feature some of the arts most influential names including: Run DMC, LL Cool J and Queen Latifah.

“PBS is excited to join with Chuck D, Lorrie Boula and BBC Studios to bring this illuminating project to audiences across our platforms,” said Bill Gardner, Vice President of Multiplatform Programming and Head of Development for PBS, in a statement about the release. “Hip-hop is one of the most influential artistic genres and cultural movements of our time, and we’re thrilled to tell a deep and unflinching story with one of its originators and most powerful voices.”

Through first-hand accounts from some of rap’s most integral players, the series aims to deconstruct the origins of rap, show the roots of the art as a cultural phenomenon and illustrate its importance in giving a voice to marginalized communities.

“The hip-hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” added Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip-hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”

Prince’s Estate Valued at $156.4 Million

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In the 1980s, the rivalry between Michael Jackson and Prince was legendary as they both vied for the pop music throne.

At one point, things got so heated between The Purple One and the King of Pop that Prince tried to run over Jackson and some family members in his limo, according to music icon Quincy Jones.

“He waited in the limousine to try and run over him and [Jackson’s sister] La Toya and his mother,” the renowned producer told GQ in 2018, noting that things spiraled out of control between the two when Prince threatened to kill Jackson following an embarrassing exit by His Royal Badness from a James Brown concert (see video below).

So, it is fair to say that Prince — who bullied, mocked and belittled Jackson throughout their feud — might have taken some perverse pleasure from this past Friday’s news.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that after nearly six years of legal battles, parties to Prince's estate have finally agreed on its value: $156.4 million. The new total dwarfs the initial appraisal of $82.3 million by the estate’s administrator, Comerica Bank & Trust.

More importantly for Prince purists, fans of one-upmanship and those who got a kick out of the back-and-forth nature of the sometimes-friendly struggle for superiority from the duo, it exceeds the adjusted value of Jackson’s estate.

After his death in 2009, the IRS appraised Jackson’s wealth at $1.1 billion before adjusting that figure to $482 million. That lofty number wouldn’t last long, however, as a U.S. Tax Court judge finally settled the matter, valuing Jackson's estate at $111 million last spring.

The settlement means that the process of distributing the musician's, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, wealth could begin in February. The estate will be almost evenly divided between Primary Wave, a well-funded New York music company, and the three oldest of Prince's six heirs or their families.

In all seriousness, it is a hollow victory. Author and friend Tavis Smiley told Extra Jackson’s death hit Prince hard:

I've never said it publicly… when the news came that Michael had died, Prince was in rehearsal at Paisley Park… Prince cancels rehearsals, sent the band home, and for days locked himself in his bedroom and wouldn't come out and really didn't talk to people.