New Book
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.
About the Author:
André Leon Talley was the indomitable creative director at Vogue during the magazine’s rising dominance as the world’s fashion bible. Over the past five decades, his byline has also appeared in Vanity Fair, HG, Interview, and Women’s Wear Daily. He has published A.L.T.: A Memoir, and several illustrated works, including Little Black Dress, A.L.T.: 365+, and Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style. André is also the subject of the documentary The Gospel According to André. For his significant contributions to the arts, he was granted France’s distinguished honor of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2020. He received his MA in French studies from Brown and served on the board of trustees for the Savannah College of Art and Design for twenty years.
The former Vogue editor-at-large is making headlines for his new memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches.”
The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley Reviews:
“The joy of reading about André Leon Talley’s journey in The Chiffon Trenches is coupled with knowing that he survived and thrived by being revered and respected by those at every level of fashion. That never goes out of style.”—Tamron Hall, award-winning journalist and host of Tamron Hall
“I literally could not stop reading The Chiffon Trenches—I started reading in the afternoon and finished the same evening. Everyone in the fashion world will be reading this book—whether they admit it or not.”—Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Own this book? See if Mybookcart is buying The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley. Sell your book for cash.
