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Andr Leon Talley, a former Vogue magazine editor and fashion icon, died Tuesday at the age of 73 from complications related to COVID, according to his longtime friend and Houston resident, Dr. Yvonne Cormier. His death was first reported by TMZ.
Talley may have underlying health problems related to her weight, Cormier said. He tried many times to lose weight, but to no avail.
Cormier, an anesthesiologist, and Talley had a brother and sister bond that lasted more than 45 years.
They met as students at Brown University in Rhode Island, where Talley studied French literature. Cormier thought she would eventually earn a PhD and teach college, but Talley fell in love with fashion.
“Early in his career, he called me to tell me he was having lunch with someone famous. I would tell him I had no idea who he was talking about. He would say, ‘Honey, but you have to.'”
Talley, a native of North Carolina who speaks fluent French, began her career in fashion by working at Women’s Wear Daily before becoming Vogue’s creative director and later as editor-at-large, working alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. She shaped the looks of many celebrities, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, whom she introduced to JasonWu, who later made her inauguration gown.
Over the years, Talley and Cormier have become increasingly attached to fashion.
She accompanied Cormier to Paris to select fabrics for her wedding dress, and she selected one of Cormier’s Oscar de la Rentagowns for the exhibition “The Glamor and Romance of Oscar de la Renta,” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 2017. nearly 70 ensembles, curated by Talley, from the private archives of late Dominican designers, celebrity clients, and the closet of Houston socialites. Talley and de la Renta were lifelong friends.
Cormier even made a cameo in the 2018 Talley documentary, “The Gospel According to Andre.”
During her 2017 visit to Houston, Cormier said Talley told her she would be too busy with the exhibition to see it. But like a friend, he called her to check if she needed lunch. “No,” he answered, then called her back a few minutes later to say he wanted the best Texas chili.
“I had a friend who just went deer hunting, so I had chili in the fridge. I took it out and brought dessert from the Dessert Gallery. She was thrilled,” Cormier said.
CormiersaidTalley not only knows today’s fashion, she knows its history.
“Andre can tell you the first designer to make a bias cut outfit. He understands the language and history of fashion… His message to young students is that it doesn’t matter how much you pay for an outfit, that’s what you do with it,” she says.
Talley has been outspoken about the fashion industry’s lack of diversity and is working diligently to showcase more black models.
In a 2017 Chronicle interview, he said: “I was a young man who always dreamed of being in fashion, who achieved his dream, which is very difficult for a black man. To be a black man in America and to achieve his dream of being in fashion and have a documentary. That’s a big achievement.”
Talley loves wearing robes and credits her grandmother, who works as a waitress, for teaching her about style.
“Every Sunday, I would wear a blue suit and white shirt starched with Argo cornmeal cooked on the stove,” he told the Chronicle.
Cormier said she will miss her friend’s fashion sense of humor very much.
“Andre would call me to ask me what I was wearing to an event. After I told him he would say, ‘No, honey, you can’t do that.’ There’s a lot of ‘darling.'”
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