André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever” — A Monument to Fashion, Legacy, and Courage
A tribute to the man who turned survival into style — and made history look divine.
Witnessing the André Leon Talley exhibition at SCAD FASH was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
I knew André well. Bethann Hardison introduced us in 1985, and I owe much of my career — including introductions to Karl Lagerfeld, Manolo Blahnik, and Anna Wintour — to him.
Walking into that exhibit felt like entering a modern-day tomb of a fashion pharaoh. Six-foot-six mannequins with onyx heads sculpted in André’s exact likeness stood like monuments to his genius. Every ensemble — cut, craft, and material — radiated his supernatural sense of style.
When André first hit the scene in 1974, fresh out of Brown University, he landed in the fashion jungle with a tactical intellect that was equal parts flamethrower and machete — and he carved the way for so many talented people to follow. His clothes were his armor. His superhero suits. They let him walk through walls, command rooms, and claim his place in history.
But what struck me most about the exhibition wasn’t just the scale — it was the spirit.
Seasoned professionals, emerging artists, and SCAD alumni came together to build this tribute, many of whom had never met André in life but had been shaped by his legacy. Through his courage and visibility, he gave them permission to imagine careers in the arts — and to walk into rooms where no one in their families had ever stood before.
That is the quiet, seismic power of representation: not just to inspire admiration, but to make participation possible.
André himself came from the American South. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Durham, North Carolina in 1948, his childhood was marked by both racial and sexual violence — yet he refused to let those wounds define his life. He transmuted pain into purpose, isolation into insight.
He learned from his grandmother, Bennie Frances Davis Talley, the power of dignity — how to meet cruelty with discipline, and injustice with excellence.
Through education, elegance, and unrelenting discipline, André elevated himself by lifting others up.
He showed the world — especially young Black creatives — that intellect and taste were not the birthright of privilege, but the result of study, faith, and unshakable self-belief.
The night at SCAD FASH was unforgettable. President Paula Wallace and the university’s artisans, working at the height of their powers, created an extraordinary tribute to a man who turned getting dressed into an act of art and survival — a sermon in silk and taffeta.
The only thing missing?
A final panel that “P.S. This was Real Life”.
Because what André did wasn’t fantasy. It was transformation — for himself, and for everyone who followed.
Mr. Talley was larger than life. And Thank you Ms. Webb, for remembering and honoring this Creative Zulu Warrior... he had to fight for his space right up to the end. He was Here.
Well said and described, Veronica! The SCAD exhibit in Atlanta and Savannah, showcasing Andre and his fabulous couture wardrobe is truly outstanding-- must-see for fashion lovers. The SCAD curators went all out on this one. Those lifesize, carved mannequins are exquisite renditions of Andre... and staring at them left me with goosebumps as I felt his presence inhabiting his clothes. The ALT documentary film is superb-- thorough, nuanced, entertaining. Andre Leon Talley is smiling down on SCAD, the fine
institution that knew him so well.