André Leon Talley's Inimitable Life and Style in Pictures

Talley spent many an evening partying with Yves Saint Laurent, whom he befriended in his late twenties, during the first of his two stints at W in the mid-’70s.

New Year’s Eve of 1978 saw him hit the glitter-covered dance floor of Studio 54 with Diana Ross.

Talley’s statement looks weren’t always caftans and capes. Case in point: the key-lime knee-highs he wore while positing with the late YSL muse Mariana Schiano circa 1980.

Catherine Deneuve and Karl Lagerfeld (in his folding fan era) were among those to support Talley at his photo exhibition in Paris in the ‘90s.

Talley, seen here in 1989, was a mentor to Naomi Campbell, whom he memorably cast and styled as Scarlett O’Hara in a Vanity Fair shoot that reimagined Gone With the Wind with Black protagonists.

“You championed me and you have been my friend since my beginning,” Marc Jacobs, seen here at cocktails with Talley in 1990, wrote in one of the very first tributes.

Talley could often be found in the company of a supermodel (in this case, Kristen McMenamy) back when NYFW was held at Bryant Park.

Out of all his many Met Gala memories, striking up a friendship with Cher at the 1997 edition was Talley’s favorite.

Talley was the talk of Paris Fashion Week when he decamped from the front row to the runway at Yohji Yamamoto’s spring 1999 showing.

His 1999 Met Gala look was classic ALT, and came complete with a large gold crucifix.

If you haven’t seen Talley’s cameo in Mariah Carey’s “Say Somethin’” music video, you’re in for a real treat.

Jacobs made more of a statement than Talley for once at his 2005 Christmas party.

Backstage at the fall 2007 Baby Phat show during New York Fashion Week, Talley bumped into Britney Spears.

Talley was there to witness Lagerfeld’s entire evolution (and love affair with Diet Coke).

Talley could even make a t-shirt look Met Gala appropriate in 2010 when he attended with Whoopi Goldberg.

Talley was the picture of extravagance at John Galliano’s fall 2011 showing, which he attended with Vogue colleague Grace Coddington.

And shimmered in a gold caftan at Marc Jacob’s fall 2020 showing, which would turn out to be one of his last public appearances.

Not that Talley ever stepped out of the spotlight. He not only made waves with his 2020 memoir The Chiffon Trenches, but also became the face of Ugg. The campaign featured him outside his home in White Plains, New York.