André Leon Talley

"Discover what truly happens behind the scenes in the world of high fashion in this detailed, storied memoir from style icon, bestselling author, and former Vogue creative director André Leon Talley. During André Leon Talley's first magazine job assisting Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decade's long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, Talley moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild's Women's Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers. But as Talley made friends, he also made enemies. A racially tinged encounter with a member of the house of Yves Saint Laurent sent him back to New York and into the offices of Vogue under Grace Mirabella. There, he developed an unlikely but intimate friendship with Anna Wintour, and as she rose to the top of Vogue's masthead, Talley became the most influential man in fashion. The Chiffon Trenches is a candid look at the who's who of the last fifty years of fashion, and proof that fact is always fascinatingly more devilish than fiction. André Leon Talley's engaging memoir tells the story of how he not only survived but thrived--despite racism, illicit rumors, and all the other challenges of this notoriously cutthroat industry--to become one of the most legendary voices and faces in fashion"--

A Memoir

The Chiffon Trenches

The editor-at-large for "Vogue" describes his odyssey from North Carolina to the heights of the fashion world, reflecting on how his life was influenced by his maternal grandmother, Bennie Frances Davis, and Diana Vreeland, his mentor.

A.L.T.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the pages of Vogue to the runways of Paris, this “captivating” (Time) memoir by a legendary style icon captures the fashion world from the inside out, in its most glamorous and most cutthroat moments. “The Chiffon Trenches honestly and candidly captures fifty sublime years of fashion.”—Manolo Blahnik NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Fortune • Garden & Gun • New York Post During André Leon Talley’s first magazine job, alongside Andy Warhol at Interview, a fateful meeting with Karl Lagerfeld began a decades-long friendship with the enigmatic, often caustic designer. Propelled into the upper echelons by his knowledge and adoration of fashion, André moved to Paris as bureau chief of John Fairchild’s Women’s Wear Daily, befriending fashion's most important designers (Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta). But as André made friends, he also made enemies. A racially tinged encounter with a member of the house of Yves Saint Laurent sent him back to New York and into the offices of Vogue under Grace Mirabella. There, he eventually became creative director, developing an unlikely but intimate friendship with Anna Wintour. As she rose to the top of Vogue’s masthead, André also ascended, and soon became the most influential man in fashion. The Chiffon Trenches offers a candid look at the who’s who of the last fifty years of fashion. At once ruthless and empathetic, this engaging memoir tells with raw honesty the story of how André not only survived the brutal style landscape but thrived—despite racism, illicit rumors, and all the other challenges of this notoriously cutthroat industry—to become one of the most renowned voices and faces in fashion. Woven throughout the book are also André’s own personal struggles that have impacted him over the decades, along with intimate stories of those he has turned to for inspiration (Diana Vreeland, Diane von Fürstenberg, Lee Radziwill, to name a few), and of course his Southern roots and ongoing faith, which have guided him since childhood. The result is a highly compelling read that captures the essence of a world few of us will ever have real access to, but one that we all want to know oh so much more about.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition held at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah College of Art and Design, September 28, 2012-January 31, 2013.

Little Black Dress

Diane von Furstenberg arrived in the fashion world in 1972 with her simple knit jersey wrap dresses. By 1976, Diane had sold more than 5 million of her signature wrap dresses, which had come to symbolize female power and liberation to an entire generation. Almost 20 years later, with the nostalgia for '70s fashion at its peak, Diane re-emerged on the New York fashion scene with her signature wrap modified for a new generation of chic young women. Now with smaller collars than the original wrap, the new version has been enthusiastically adopted by today's trendsetters and celebrities. This volume looks at the history of the "wrap" phenomenon, from its revolutionary early days to its ever-popular present.

The Wrap

Diane Von Furstenberg

Richard Bernstein

Mega-star

Sam Shahid

The unstoppable, unforgettable Andre Leon Talley, "Vogue" magazine's editor-at-large, embodies the essence of the American spiritQthe self-made man who has risen through the ranks of the elite high fashion industry. His first monograph is both a family albume and a whirlwind tour through a year in his life. Talley introduces readers to the people and places he encounters, be it amongst the devout and elite perched along the front row of Fashion Week or seated with the faithful at the Good Friday services at Abyssian Baptist Church. 1-57687-240-8$85.00 / powerHouse Books

A.L.T. 365+

Anna Wintour

Michael Roberts

Manolo Blahnik

For three decades, Manolo Blahnik_s shoes have held the fashion world spellbound. His sense of the theatrical wedded to the finest materials and superlative craftsmanship inspire fanatical devotion. Diane Von Furstenberg has more than 80 pairs; Paloma Picasso has been fan since the age of 14; and Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Piaggi and Kate Moss, to name a few, are fellow addicts. Here, collected together for the first time, are over one hundred and twenty exquisite drawings that Blahnik makes at the outset of the design process. These sketches are executed with such exuberance and deftness that they have become as sought-after as the shoes themselves (they often fetch up to £10,000 at charity auctions). Inimitable in style, these drawings, beautifully reproduced in this book with special inks, vividly convey Blahnik_s unique vision.

Manolo Blahnik Drawings

François Nars

After creating stunning, fullframe images of striking women for his NARS cosmetics line, Francois Nars decided to expand his vision. With over 240 richly stylized presentations of elegance from the worlds of fashion, design, film, high society, and even people from the street, X-RAY is Nars' testament to bold, audacious chic.

X-ray

Sofia Coppola

Pedro Almodovár

Obsession und Leidenschaft

Jennifer Park

Molly Sorkin

"Published by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Del Monico Books Prestel on the occasion of the exhibition Oscar de la Renta."

André Leon Talley

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