[malaychic]

i love andre!! i wish i have all his fashion connections lol!

[Crakk]

I wish he would write more. I love his little diddies in Vogue.

[sethii]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtD68JXLKA

[Dkammern]

i know i may sound annoying to someone who likes what he does (whatever that is) but i still have trouble discerning what is it that he does at vogue and why is it HIS job to do that, and not someone else's
i just dont understand how based on his formal training (french lit) he is able to take decisions that in any way matter to such a huge publication that must rely on strong and well composed opinions.
i get that he has a lot of experience and that he had worked alongside with Vreeland and now Anna, but for that very same reason we could say that his vision is not that wide and focuses maybe too much on the one and only thing he knows about.
i dont even think his flamboyant personal style could have anything to do with it. i mean, if putting together a pair of diamond incrusted vivier shoes with a larger than life balenciaga cape is seen as somewhat talented, then anyone could be in his place, no?
there's got to be something else i dont know about!!

as Karl would say: "when you like something right away, you dont have to worry. But when you don't like, you must ask yourself why is it that people like that!"
so also on another note to all of the above, do tell me why is it that you like about ALT

[MON]

Is it true that he'd be judging Ms Universe?

[Dkammern]

^^ So i've heard. It seems Vogue is opening it's doors to the world, no?
I can't wait to see The September Issue with the infamous "famine of beauty" ALTscene

[cygnenoir]

Well, this should be verrrrry interesting.

Just saw that Andre will a guest on the Craig Ferguson show this evening. (The other guest is Kate Beckinsale which makes it even more surreal, I think.)

I assume he's promoting "The September Issue"?

[arlekindearrabal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by borjacapella i know i may sound annoying to someone who likes what he does (whatever that is) but i still have trouble discerning what is it that he does at vogue and why is it HIS job to do that, and not someone else's i just dont understand how based on his formal training (french lit) he is able to take decisions that in any way matter to such a huge publication that must rely on strong and well composed opinions. i get that he has a lot of experience and that he had worked alongside with Vreeland and now Anna, but for that very same reason we could say that his vision is not that wide and focuses maybe too much on the one and only thing he knows about. i dont even think his flamboyant personal style could have anything to do with it. i mean, if putting together a pair of diamond incrusted vivier shoes with a larger than life balenciaga cape is seen as somewhat talented, then anyone could be in his place, no? there's got to be something else i dont know about!! as Karl would say: "when you like something right away, you dont have to worry. But when you don't like, you must ask yourself why is it that people like that!" so also on another note to all of the above, do tell me why is it that you like about ALT

I mean, why not?
He certainly has the experience, having worked under la Vreeland...

Besides, if you're going to use the 'what's so special about him' argument, I may be inclined to ask what is really so special about Virginia Smith, Lauren Santo Domingo, or all those other Vogue girls (and boys)?
Sure, they're stylish, but so are a 1001 other NY socialités...

What makes Hamish Bowles so special? That he's a hyper-cultured british guy?
Those seem to be a dime a dozen, and I bet many would be more than willing to work for a magazine such as Vogue...

Maybe Anna just likes him, who knows...

[cygnenoir]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cygnenoir Just saw that Andre will a guest on the Craig Ferguson show this evening. (The other guest is Kate Beckinsale which makes it even more surreal, I think.)

Replying to myself! This was listed on all the TV guides but actually did not happen. No Kate Beckinsale either. Hopefully it will air soon.

And as far as ALT's talent, experience and so on, I think sometimes people just fall into jobs and it's mostly about luck. You just happen to be the right person at the right place at the right time and then once you're in, you find that it's actually a good fit and that you do have some ability in the area.

Probably doesn't hurt to be a 6'7" black man interested in fashion! Anyone see those old pictures of him when he was young? He was quite the dandy and it would have been difficult not to notice him!

[Style Savvy]

I heard she will be a judge on America's Next Top Model. If so, that's great for ANTM.

[ChrissyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Style Savvy I heard she will be a judge on America's Next Top Model. If so, that's great for ANTM.

you mean HE, right

[AgrenateD]

ALT + Tyra = More Crazy Antics

i doubt if ALT being in America's Next Kinda Model will have any effect
on the show's ability to produce real top models, seeing that the show's
absurd format is to orchestrate the poor model wannabes with visions
of high fashion in the first few episodes, only to pummel them down later
on with commercialism courtesy of that shining shimmering Covergirl
contract. the last part technically wipes out all hopes of the winner to
score down real campaigns and photo shoots. and i mean, its still
Tyra calling the shots.

but this may turn out good as well, and this move of getting ALT as a
panelist might be Tyra's means of salvation, a way of lessening all the
ridiculous elements (that they have been bent on amassing since the first
few cycles) and adding more refinery to her format. and Andre's Vogue
connections doesn't hurt as well, it may be the winner's ultimate ticket
to landing glossies in magazines that matter.

[Mélange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by borjacapella Andre Leon Talley:..... WHY IS HE RELEVANT?.... there must be a reason besides being close to Anna and i am really willing to know them. Right now i seriously cant see them. He writes a couple of pages for vogue about whats going on in fashion right now (not even things to come imho) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY his lavish lifestyle (ritz in paris, tennis equipment from Vuitton, Ralph Lauren made to mesure clothes, Balenciaga capes, Roger Vivier diamond incrusted flats, traveling here, traveling there, louis vuitton bags...... on and on...) does somebody here know why?

Personally I haven't got the slightest clue why this US Vogue hanger-on with an unlimited expense account is in any way relevant to the world of fashion?

I'm afraid there are only 2 things I don't like about Andre Leon Talley - everything he says and everything he does!

[mikeijames]

i've not really read all of the back and fourth commentary in this thread but i feel compelled to reply anyway. the phrase "it's not what you know but who you know" remains more true today than it ever has. ALT has relationships and experiences in the fashion world that find themselves INVALUABLE to vogue as the institution that it's become. just like anna wintour does not have a PHD in publishing or any sort of fashion training whatsoever, ALT has an eye for what's right and a nose for what's good. do you think that michelle obama would have appeared on the cover of vogue without ALT? further, as this forum proves almost daily, there's a difference between knowing a little -- or a lot -- about fashion and making senseless commentary and having a genuine identifiable POINT OF VIEW. there exist people who have spent years in the fashion industry who don't know their rodarte from their rodin. there exist people in this very forum who don't know the difference mainbocher and maison martin margiela. more than that: beyond knowing the vocabulary of modern fashion, the ability to have an opinion. and then have an opinion that resonates with the zeitgeist of this generation. that's a rare talent.

there are seamstresses who have sewn longer than ghesquiere has been alive. there are mid-level retail managers -- who have worked at high end stores for decades -- who have less business sense than tom ford has in his pinky finger. there are tenured teachers at fashion schools who could not write one article that could hold a flame to cathy horyn's most pithy blog. it's not just about education. it's about having something to SAY. and andre leon talley has that in spades.

[Dkammern]

^^
so the part of the invaluable relationships i get. he is "bien placé", he's been around for a long time, he partied back in the good old wild days in new york city and he worked for some time under Diana Vreeland.
but the eye for what's right, the nose for what's good, even the point of view...
sincerely i've never seen/heard/read ALT being able to explain what he does or what he really has to say.
Because when he is asked in the September Issue he says he helps the editors to have "a dialogue about fashion" (whatever that's supposed to mean)
And, his "life with andre" pages are more about his lavish lifestlye (his first ever excursion to the tennis court was actually described in his section once. vuitton bags and all included).
And, his visits to ateliers and showrooms are not quite insightful either. He tells Isabel Toledo that her glasses are upside down and she goes and says "you have SUCH an eye"
and then he compliments her cruise collection is "clinical" (which he previously says he doesnt like about other collections)
These examples may all be very "september issue" but i guess that's what i have in most recent memory.
I've seen everything from short videos to a whole interview with chanlie rose, or clips where he appears just a few seconds giving his opinion on shows (like style.com videos but older) and if he has a point of view, he sure is very private about it.
I've never heard him say anything more elaborate than what you'd get out of a 17 years old russian model. His thoughts on a Chloe collection back when Karl was still designing for the house? "this was very beautiful! and modern! and very very beautiful!!!"
What he thought about the Chanel resort that was showed in Grand Central? "There's something about the way you have to pronouce channnnnnnelllllllle, you know? CLICK! it's like... channnneeelllllle CLICK CLICK!!" with laughing and crying all in between...

i don't know... i still don't get it. As you see i've tried, but it's just beyond me.
I feel like bryanboy could do his job better. right, not for the relationships part (yet)