In the 2013 September issue of VANITY FAIR, Andre Leon Talley, the legendary former Editor-At-Large of VOGUE talks candidly about his personal life, professional career and offers women some "critical" advice about fashion. See that Andre revealed inside....
Andre Leon Talley opened up toVANITY FAIRfor their September issue (HUGE deal) about his long tenure in the fashion world including his legendary stint at VOGUE and his current position at Numero Russia. He's also very candid about his love life, revealing that he's never been in love with a man, but has loved two women. Well, that's shocker for ya. One was a fellow student in Providence and the other a society woman whom he fell in love after a night of dancing.
He also revealed he had "very gay experiences." Whatever falls under that category...
Here are the other highlights, and yes, he brings up race in the fashion world.....
On being single:
“I just said to a friend, ‘I can create this magic, so why don’t I have a lover?’” But he adds.....“if I was a couple, I wouldn’t like to stay in the same bedroom. It is very un-chic in Europe to sleep in the same bedroom.”
On fashion advice for women:
“The world has become too casual, and people have become lazy. There was a time when people went on the airplane with gloves. It’s about gloves, O.K., darling? It’s about gloves. Listen.”
On if he identified himself as a gay man while growing up:
"No, no, no. I was just into my magazines and the drawings. I had a very strict upbringing, almost puritanical. I lived there all the way through college. I was in my grandmother’s house, and I respected that!”
On dating in the industry:
"I've had very gay experiences, yes, I swear on my grandmother’s grave that I never slept with a single designer in my life. Never, ever desired, never was asked, never was approached, never, ever bought, in my entire career. Never. Not one. Skinny or fat. Never.”
On his friendship with Anna Wintour:
“I wouldn’t have stayed at Vogue as long as I did without Anna being there. She was my biggest ally. There could not have been another way.”
On his weight:
“I do not weigh myself. I do not want to get on that scale. I only know what I weigh from the way my clothes fit. The people who are really close to me and know me have stopped bringing my weight up. They probably discuss it behind my back, some of them, in the fashion world. I have never felt less of a person because of my dramatic weight gain. Up or down, my confidence and sense of self never wavered.”
On whether race has affected his career:
“People stereotype you. What person of color do you know who’s in a position like that, be it a man or a woman, unless it’s Essence magazine?”
Photos via Getty Images