Late Tuesday night, the news broke that André Leon Talley, former creative director and editor at large of Vogue magazine, had died at 73.
Talley had a long career as a fashion journalist, but he also came to be regarded as a style icon in his own right. The trailblazer knew how to rock a bespoke suit and often showed off his impressive height in floor-length caftans.
We’ve rounded up 49 photos of Talley’s style evolution, from his early magazine days to his years as an essential Met Gala fixture.
Advertisement
1
1980
Images Press via Getty Images
2
1989
Images Press via Getty Images
3
1989
Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images
Advertisement
4
1990
Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images
5
1991
Frank Trapper via Getty Images
6
1995
Ron Galella via Getty Images
Advertisement
7
1997
Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images
8
1997
Ron Galella via Getty Images
9
1999
Rose Hartman via Getty Images
Advertisement
10
2000
Evan Agostini via Getty Images
11
2002
Arnaldo Magnani via Getty Images
12
2003
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
Advertisement
13
2004
Gregory Pace via Getty Images
14
2004
Ron Galella via Getty Images
15
2004
Sylvain Gaboury via Getty Images
Advertisement
16
2004
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
17
2005
Djamilla Rosa Cochran via Getty Images
18
2005
JB Lacroix via Getty Images
Advertisement
19
2006
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
20
2006
Michael Loccisano via Getty Images
21
2007
Shane Gritzinger via Getty Images
Advertisement
22
2007
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
23
2008
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
24
2008
Rabbani and Solimene Photography via Getty Images
Advertisement
25
2008
Brian Ach via Getty Images
26
2009
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
27
2009
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Advertisement
28
2010
Jemal Countess via Getty Images
29
2010
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
30
2010
Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
Advertisement
31
2011
Larry Busacca via Getty Images
32
2012
Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images
33
2013
Jacopo M. Raule via Getty Images
Advertisement
34
2013
Charles Norfleet via Getty Images
35
2014
John Lamparski via Getty Images
36
2014
Michael Loccisano via Getty Images
Advertisement
37
2014
Bravo via Getty Images
38
2015
Andrew Toth via Getty Images
39
2015
Paul Morigi via Getty Images
Advertisement
40
2015
Bravo via Getty Images
41
2016
Gilbert Carrasquillo via Getty Images
42
2017
Ben Gabbe via Getty Images
Advertisement
43
2017
Taylor Hill via Getty Images
44
2017
Nancy Rivera/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
45
2018
Gilbert Carrasquillo via Getty Images
Advertisement
46
2018
Araya Doheny via Getty Images
47
2019
David M. Benett via Getty Images
48
2020
Rob Kim via Getty Images
Advertisement
49
2020
John Lamparski via Getty Images