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Anna Wintour opens up about ‘immeasurable’ loss of André Leon Talley

The Vogue editor-in-chief called Talley, who died Tuesday at 73, a "brilliant and compassionate man who was a generous and loving friend to me and to my family for many, many years."

Anna Wintour is remembering the “brilliant and compassionate” André Leon Talley, who died Tuesday at 73

Talley, a legendary fashion journalist and the first Black man to serve as creative director at Vogue, worked with Wintour closely for decades at the magazine.

Anna Wintour and Andre Leon
Wintour and Talley, seen here at a fashion show in 1996, worked closely together for years.Evan Agostini / Getty Images

The Vogue editor-in-chief, 72, remembered her friend and colleague in an obituary on the magazine's website.

“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,” she wrote.

She also noted his enthusiastic spirit, and affectionately remembered his habit of sending personality-filled faxes, which inspired his StyleFax column for Vogue.

Anna Wintour and Andre Leon
Talley wrote in his 2020 memoir about his complex relationship with Wintour over the years. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

“No one could make people more excited about the most seemingly insignificant fashion details than him,” Wintour wrote. “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,” she added. “He was magnificent and erudite and wickedly funny—mercurial, too.”

Talley and Wintour attended the Calvin Klein Collection Fall 2007 fashion show in New York.
Talley and Wintour attended the Calvin Klein Collection Fall 2007 fashion show in New York.Billy Farrell / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Talley and Wintour were frequently spotted sitting side-by-side at fashion shows, and Talley was often the only Black person in the front row, as Vogue noted in its obituary.

Talley opened up about his experiences as a Black person at Vogue in his 2020 memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches.”

“I never thought of myself as a Black man sitting at Vogue creating this historical moment,” he said. “I thought of myself as an individual with talent and a person who had knowledge about fashion and style.”

“Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments,” Wintour wrote in a statement about Talley.
“Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments,” Wintour wrote in a statement about Talley.Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

He was also candid in his memoir about his complicated relationship with Wintour over the years.

“As we grew older and evolved more into her power structure, she seems to have forgotten and some days she would treat me like a family member and another day I’d be the black sheep, virtually out in the pasture,” he told Al Roker on the 3rd hour of TODAY in 2020.

Wintour alluded to these tensions in Vogue’s obituary.

“Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments,” she wrote, “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.”

Talley's death was confirmed on his Instagram page Wednesday. The cause of death wasn't yet known, but the towering, 6-feet-6 fashion icon had struggled with his health in recent years.

Tributes have been pouring in for Talley, including from iconic designer Diane von Furstenberg.

“Good bye darling André,” she wrote on Instagram. “no one saw the world in a more elegant and glamorous way than you did … no one was more soulful and grander than you were …the world will be less joyful now. I have loved you and laughed with you for 45 years…. I will miss your loud screams and your loyal friendship…I love you soooo much.”