The fashion world was shaken this week with news of the untimely death of fashion editor extraordinaire, André Leon Talley. As the first black gay man to have command at the pinnacle of the fashion world he was a pioneer and as such paved the way for others. André was grand, flamboyant, extravagant, larger-than-life, well-read and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the history fashion. Armed with these qualities and a generous dose of charm and wit he found great success and worldwide recognition within the rarefied world of fashion.

Formidable women throughout André’s life paved the way to his eventual success. Beginning with his beloved grandmother in Durham, North Carolina, who raised him with a wealth of unconditional love, church and family. He moved to New York with his letter of introduction in hand and met Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, and became her protégé. When Anna Wintour later became Vogue’s editor-in-chief their fates were sealed when she made history by “making me the first African-American male EVER to be named as creative director of Vogue, in 1988” and they forged ahead to rule the world of fashion.

André Leon Talley and Anna Wintour - photo CNN Style

Along with his passion for fashion, André was equally obsessed about decorating. He had a love and appreciation of beauty, luxury and living amongst exquisite possessions. While still a student at Brown he set his sights high and slept on sheets designed by Yves Saint Laurent. He discovered the world of fancy linens via Jackie Kennedy’s White House TV Tour in 1962. “It was then I learned the word “Porthault”; the Parisian linen firm donated a long white tablecloth for the State Dining Room, hand-embroidered in gold thread.” As creative director of Vogue his rugs of choice were antique French hand-woven by Aubusson.

Moving within an exclusive community of the very powerful and wealthy he visited extraordinary homes with dazzling decors that included Karl Lagerfeld’s and Säo Schlumberger’s mansions in Paris, filled with rare antiques and priceless artworks. Top of his list for elegant entertaining, not surprisingly are Oscar and Annette de la Renta at their Connecticut home where “Dining with Oscar and Annette de la Renta is as goods as it gets. Every detail is perfect: flowers, food, porcelain, silver and lighting”. He expressed deep admiration also for Whoopi Goldberg’s collecting prowess…“her china cabinet is like nothing I’ve ever seen in all the world. I go to her house for Christmas or Thanksgiving. It’s always a feast for the eyes.”

Oscar and Annette de la Renta’s Livingroom, Connecticut - Architectural Digest

So, some of the things we learn from André is that there’s no such thing as too much… it can’t be too elegant, refined or luxurious and living well is the best revenge. Moving to his house in the relative quiet of White Plains André was able to do just that. In the midst of nature as in his childhood with his grandmother in North Carolina, surrounded by fabulous and extraordinary possessions amassed over a lifetime of collecting.