Anna Wintour has paid tribute to her friend and former colleague, André Leon Talley.
The fashion journalist, who served as editor-at-large at U.S. Vogue from 1998 until 2013, died at the age of 73 on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the sad news, editor-in-chief Wintour issued a statement via Vogue on Wednesday in which she remembered Talley's "magnificent" personality and "immeasurable" contribution to the industry.
"It's the loss of André as my colleague and friend that I think of now; it's immeasurable. He was magnificent and erudite and wickedly funny - mercurial, too," she commented. "Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments, but all I want to remember today, all I care about, is the brilliant and compassionate man who was a generous and loving friend to me and to my family for many, many years, and who we will all miss so much."
While Talley and Wintour were close throughout their years at Vogue together, the writer revealed in his 2020 book, The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir, that they fell out after he was dismissed from his famous gig of interviewing celebrities at the 2018 Met Gala. It is not known if they mended their relationship prior to his passing.
Elsewhere in the tribute, Wintour remembered her time working with Talley, and how staff members looked forward to receiving one of his "stream of colourful faxes and emails".
"The loss of André is felt by so many of us today," the 72-year-old continued. "The designers he enthusiastically cheered on every season, and who loved him for it; the generations he inspired to work in the industry, seeing a figure who broke boundaries while never forgetting where he started from; those who knew fashion, and Vogue, simply because of him; and, not forgetting, the multitude of colleagues over the years who were consistently buoyed by every new discovery of André's, which he would discuss loudly, and volubly - no one could make people more excited about the most seemingly insignificant fashion details than him."
