Happy birthday to our iconic Southern ancestor André Leon Talley 🎂 Born in Washington, D.C., and raised by his maternal grandmother Bennie Francis Davis in Durham, NC, Talley’s ingenuity and legendary contributions to high fashion, and media was, as he often noted, shaped by his grandmother’s opulent style. Davis, who worked as a cleaning lady at Duke University would often take the young Talley on trips to Washington, D.C. and New York City to shop at high end stores like Saks Fifth Avenue to purchase his suits and her own church hats. A graduate of North Carolina Central University in 1966, Talley earned a B.A in French Literature, and shortly after, an M.A in the same field from Brown University in 1970. From Brown, he earned an apprenticeship, working with Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His exceptional talent at the Met launched Talley’s esteemed publishing career and role as a person of influence in the New York art and fashion scene. He held curatorial and editorial positions at Andy Warhol’s famed Factory Studio, Interview Magazine, and Women’s Wear Daily, before serving the Paris Bureau Chief at W Magazine from 1975-1980. Talley held notable editorial positions at the New York Times and Ebony Magazine, while contributing to other outlets for two years, 1980-1982, before beginning his most celebrated position at Vogue. At Vogue, Talley served as the publication’s Fashion News Director from 1983-1987. In 1988, Talley was promoted to Creative Director at Vogue, becoming the first African American man to hold the position. In the role, which he held until 1995, he broke boundaries in the fashion world, by pushing the publication and the top fashion houses it served to feature more Black models. Talley left Vogue in 1995 to for an editorial role at W in Paris. He would later serve as Vogue’s editor-at-large from 1998-2013. In addition to his editorial accolades, Talley worked as a stylist and fashion advisor for The Obama family, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Kanye West, and Naomi Campbell among others. He is also credited with launching the careers of designers like John Galliano, and Ric