Thank You For Your Big Fashion Energy!

💔We’ve lost another icon, this time in the international world of fashion. I’ve been a fan of the legendary Andre Leon Talley since I cracked the spine of my first issue of Vogue. The monthly print magazine was thicker back then and the September issue could weigh at least two pounds.

And as you turned the glossy pages… there he was, a Black creative director with his own column, eloquently curating what’s next in culture straight from the chiffon trenches. He was always in a bespoke chapeau or a caftan made from a rare textile of a forgotten tribe in the Sahara. His eclectic and discerning fashion choices inspired my imagination and gave me the courage to embrace my own style as I stitched up new designs based on vintage Vogue patterns on my mom’s Bernina sewing machine.

Andre Leon Talley encouraged body positivity for me in a strange way, too! The way he carried himself, helped me see as a tall, gangly teen how to embody my height and presence — shoulders back and chin up. Being a tall person who presented with every inch of their physical architecture could take me places, according to the words and world of Andre Leon Talley. Representation matters to tall, Black girls growing up in small places and tight intellectual spaces!

He was our eyes and ears in the fashion tents and let the powers that be know when the true source of a cultural influence was Black. He was fabulous, but no magical negro. Andre Leon Talley was real and represented the very best of us in those far-away destinations and exclusive editorial shoots where models wear teeny, weeny bikinis, millions of dollars of jewelry with an African headdress.

I’ve read all of his books and followed his career for years. I loved it when he made outrageous pronouncements about the next fashion moment like Oz in the Wiz, “The color is green!”

He sparked joy with his “fits” and showed us how to not just live a luxurious life from the inside out, but cultivate authenticity and celebrate our individuality when we walk into a room. Thank you Andre Leon Talley… for your flowing garbs, catchy barbs and BFE, Big “Fashion” Energy!🙏