For many, including myself, André Leon Talley is the North Star of Black fashion journalism. My admiration for him reaches back to my earliest memories of fashion.
As a Black, Southern boy who grew up surrounded by women, fashion was innately part of my lexicon. From Sunday morning church pews to hip-hop and contemporary threads, my childhood was a melting pot of inspiration. But one figure in particular — my great-grandmother — lit the fire in my belly to invest myself in fashion.
She was a seamstress who everyone in our family and community depended on. She could sew, hem, and create beautiful garments on the fly. Many summer days were spent in her sewing room, and it was there that I picked up my first Vogue magazine.
I was born in ’96, so this was around 2002 — when André Leon Talley was Editor-at-Large at Vogue. I remember picking up the September issue, Christy Turlington splashed across the cover, and feeling electrified. The styling, the storytelling, the sheer command of the page, it all felt intentional and pointed. Even at that age, Talley’s vision shaped how I understood fashion’s power.
Over the course of my life, Talley has remained a core inspiration. I wanted to model my life after his — not by attending Brown for French literature (not that adept!), but by being Black and Southern and taking up space in places that don’t always welcome us. Places that often shut us out of the conversation.
The Savannah College of Art and Design has beautifully honored Talley’s legacy with its exhibition “André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever,” curated by Rafael Brauer Gomes and Antoine Gregory. Experiencing it felt like witnessing the culmination of a life lived with precision and purpose.
The exhibit features many of Talley’s signature pieces and personal objects, alongside custom mannequins by Stephen Hayes that capture Talley’s likeness with striking accuracy. As you move through the space, church hymnals sung by Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson echo throughout — a sonic tribute to Talley’s upbringing in Durham, North Carolina, and his unshakeable determination. In the second gallery, Talley’s own voice imparts the wisdom he gathered across decades.
Alongside photographs of Talley directing Naomi Campbell and standing beside icons such as Halston, the exhibit does a remarkable job showcasing the humanity of a figure often mythologized. It presents him not just as a titan of fashion, but as a man shaped by culture, memory, community, and faith.
I felt an overwhelming sense of joy walking through it — this is someone I have idolized for most of my life, and in this space, I felt seen. As a person who hasn’t touched the hem of Vogue’s garment (yet), it was refreshing to see someone who looks like me, who is from where I’m from, take up space in rooms I aspire to enter.
It moved me deeply As a Black, Southern boy who grew up surrounded by women, fashion was innately part of my lexicon. From Sunday morning church pews to hip-hop and contemporary threads, my childhood was a melting pot of inspiration. But one figure in particular — my great-grandmother — lit the fire in my belly to invest myself in fashion.
She was a seamstress whom everyone in our family and community depended on. She could sew, hem, and create beautiful garments on the fly. Many summer days were spent in her sewing room, and it was there that I picked up my first Vogue magazine.
I was born in ’96, so this was around 2002 — when André Leon Talley was Editor-at-Large at Vogue. I remember picking up the September issue, Christy Turlington splashed across the cover, and feeling electrified. The styling, the storytelling, the sheer command of the page, it all felt intentional and pointed. Even at that age, Talley’s vision shaped how I understood fashion’s power.
[Tap into the South’s style, sound, and scene as soon as it happens. Subscribe to Sitch and never miss a beat.]
Over the course of my life, Talley has remained a constant source of inspiration. I wanted to model my life after his — not by attending Brown for French literature (not that adept!), but by being Black and Southern and taking up space in places that don’t always welcome us. Places that often shut us out of the conversation.
The Savannah College of Art and Design has beautifully honored Talley’s legacy with its exhibition “André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever,” curated by Antoine Gregory. Experiencing it felt like witnessing the culmination of a life lived with precision and purpose.
Moreover, the exhibit features many of Talley’s signature pieces and personal objects, alongside custom mannequins by Stephen Hayes that capture Talley’s likeness with striking accuracy. As you move through the space, church hymnals sung by Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson echo throughout — a sonic tribute to Talley’s upbringing in Durham, North Carolina, and his unshakeable determination. In the second gallery, Talley’s own voice imparts the wisdom he has gathered across decades.
Alongside photographs of Talley directing Naomi Campbell and standing beside icons such as Halston, the exhibit does a remarkable job showcasing the humanity of a figure often mythologized. It presents him not just as a titan of fashion but as a man shaped by culture, memory, community, and faith.
I felt an overwhelming sense of joy walking through it — this is someone I have idolized for most of my life, and in this space, I felt seen. As a person who hasn’t touched the hem of Vogue’s garment (yet), it was refreshing to see someone who looks like me, who is from where I’m from, take up space in rooms I aspire to enter.
It moved me deeply to see Talley still being celebrated in today’s fashion climate, especially given how dismissed he was toward the end of his life. This exhibit is a moody, chic, thoughtful exposition of Talley — his culture, his influence, his contradictions, and his humanity.
“André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever” is on view through January 11, 2026, at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, GA. Furthermore, it is a must-see for anyone who cares about fashion, history, and the enduring power of a Black Southern visionary.
[Tap into the South’s style, sound, and scene as soon as it happens. Subscribe to Sitch and never miss a beat.]
Leave a Reply