André Leon Talley

Terri Gross gave an interview worth listening to last week with fashion Icon André Leon Talley.  Talley is the former Editor at Large at Vogue, and is known for his signature designer-made capes and caftans. 

He's the subject of a new documentary, Gospel According to Andre, released at the Toronto Film Festival and due for wider release in the US. 

In the interview he came across as real and honest.  I can see why the elites of the fashion world would want to have him around.

Some memorable quotes: 

I didn't have people to talk to, I was very much alone in my childhood....I was emotionally afraid of people, I did not want to get close people I did not want people to touch me, I did not like to touch people, so that is just a part of who I am and I regret to this day I have difficulty responding to physical emotion....I do regret not having that relationship, I regret not having siblings, and I think about it almost everyday, because as I get older it's very, very lonely. I live a lonely life, I live in my own gilt, gold plated hell. 

The world of Vogue meant more to me than what the women were wearing as models. The issues of Vogue captivated me not only for the images of the fashion spreads, but it was the magazine itself that turned me onto a world that I did now know, that I had not been exposed to; it was a world of literature, what was happening in the world of art.... in the world of entertainment. It was my gateway to the world outside of Durham, NC.