Anna Wintour's Dirty Laundry Revealed
André Leon Talley, the former editor-at-large of Vogue, is set to release a new memoir in September 2020, a tell-all that reveals the supposedly ruthless side of Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour. Ahead of the book's release in April 2020, the Daily Mail published juicy excerpts for fans to analyze.
Talley, who was born in 1949, holds nothing back when writing about his former boss. He said of Wintour, per the published excerpt from The Chiffon Trenches, "She is immune to anyone other than the powerful and famous people who populate the pages of Vogue." Talley added, "She has mercilessly made her best friends people who are the highest in their chosen fields. Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Mr. and Mrs. George Clooney are, to her, friends. I am no longer of value to her."
Although Talley revealed not-so-flattering details about Wintour, he also made it a point to say she "made his career" and that they used to be extremely close.
So why did these two pals go their separate ways? We dissect the gossip after the jump.
André Leon Talley admitted he was 'terribly afraid' of Anna Wintour
In his new memoir, The Chiffon Trenches, André Leon Talley spoke about the influential role Anna Wintour had on his career. Talley shared that, when in 1983 he got a job as a fashion news editor at Vogue, Wintour was the creative director at the time. She eventually became a "powerful ally" of his, as he recalled in Chiffon Trenches (via the Daily Mail). Despite this bond, Talley admitted he was "terribly afraid" of her, something his late friend, famed artist Andy Warhol, used to tease him about.
Talley also recounted the winding journey both he and Wintour had early on in their careers. He said that after Wintour went to England to work as the editor of British Vogue, he became the style editor at Vanity Fair. Then Wintour came back to the U.S. to become editor of Home & Garden, and when she became the editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1988, she brought Talley with her.
Wintour then made Talley the creative director of Vogue, officially transforming him into the "highest-ranking black man in the history of fashion journalism and the most important male fashion writer," as the Daily Mail noted. Under Wintour, Talley got the best assignments, like shooting Madonna's first cover for the magazine in 1989 at her home in Los Angeles.
André Leon Talley didn't feel cool enough for Anna Wintour
André Leon Talley shared that at a certain point, something changed in his friendship with Anna Wintour. There were tumultuous periods and Talley even left Vogue for a time, and when he came back as editor-at-large, his weight supposedly became an issue for Wintour. She even staged an intervention to get Talley on a diet.
Talley claims he got shuffled out of cool projects at Vogue, like conducting Met Gala red carpet interviews. When he questioned why he was bumped out of these projects, Wintour supposedly responded with "silent treatment." As Talley explained, that's "just the way she resolves any issue."
Talley said he soon saw these supposed slights as his cue to leave, adding, "This was clearly a stone-cold business decision. I had suddenly become too old, too overweight, too uncool, I imagined, for Anna Wintour." Talley also said that Wintour is "not capable" of "simple human kindness." Ouch.
Talley said he felt like Wintour threw "him to the curb," and shared that he considers their friendship officially over.
Although it's a sad story, at least Talley is still in touch with his journalistic roots, taking the time to write this new memoir.