• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • March 20, 2023

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MILWAUKEE COURIER

Style Transcends Race, Class, and Time: Remembering Andre Leon Talley

February 18, 2023

By LaKeshia N. Myers

Representative LaKeshia Myers

To know me is to know I adore a good auction or estate sale. Ever the historian, I like rare items, signed pieces, and sentimental oddities that can claim space in an unassuming home. This is why I was overjoyed when I learned that select items from the estate of legendary fashion icon and former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, Andre Leon Talley, would be up for auction.

Talley was Black excellence personified. After earning a degree in French literature from North Carolina Central University, he won a scholarship to Brown University. From Brown, he went on to be an apprentice to Vogue Magazine editor, Diana Vreeland. This apprenticeship set Talley on a trajectory that catapulted him into the fashion stratosphere. Andre Leon Talley not only wrote about fashion, he was a highly sought after stylist, creative director, and former judge of America’s Next Top Model.

What I loved most about Mr. Talley was that he took up space, both literally and figuratively. At 6’6”, Andre was difficult to miss and always dressed to the nines. He believed that clothing should be of quality and that one should always present themselves in the best light. He was a southern; his fashions were inspired by his weekly church attendance with his grandmother in North Carolina. He often stated, “life is a runway”—therefore you should always dress the part. Talley was present—front row at most fashion shows and used his presence and power to demand opportunities for Black fashion designers, seamstresses, tailors, and models in the fashion industry.

His 2022 death was a blow to the fashion industry; but I truly felt the impact of Andre’s life when I participated in the auction last week. Bidders were participating from across the globe—England, Paris, Vietnam, Nigeria, and America. All clamoring for a piece of the beloved Mr. Talley. He was still, in death, serving as a benefactor to the institutions that fed and fueled him throughout his life—the church. The proceeds of the auction were donated to Abyssinian Baptist Church of Harlem and Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina.

If ever I needed a reminder that we are limited by the confines of time and that we should all strive to excel and make life easier for those that come behind us, Andre Leon Talley was the perfect example. He was gracious, but he was the epitome of style.

Share:

  • Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Andre Leon Talley, LaKeshia N. Myers

Read More - Related Articles

  • What You Won’t Do, Do for Love
  • Disabled Doesn’t Mean Disadvantaged: Ensuring Equity for Differently Abled Americans
  • WISDEMS Hosts Black History Month Social Hour with Dr. Hasan Jeffries
  • School Resource Officers Are Not a Panacea
  • Dishing Secrets, One Slice at a Time

View COVID-19 Resources

Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On Twitter
Follow Us On Twitter

Editorials

Lena Taylor
Lakeshia Myers
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr Ashanti Hamilton

Journalists

Mrinal Gokhale
Dylan Deprey
Karen Stokes
Hayley Crandall
Ana Martinez-Ortiz

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

Pres. Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Tom Barrett
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2023 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.