It looks like there may be even more truth in “The Devil Wears Prada” than people first thought as Andre Leon Talley, a former editor at Vogue, blasts editors at Conde Nast for being incapable of “seeing the world through black eyes.”
Page Six reports that Talley’s claims come from his new memoir, “The Chiffon Trenches,” where he charts his journey from his childhood in Durham, North Carolina, to his time in the center of Manhattan’s fashion world.
According to the publication, Talley came to the conclusion after writing an op-ed for the Washington Post that praised the 2018 September Vogue cover that featured Beyonce. Talley called the cover “history-making” as it is the first time the magazine’s 123-year history that a black photographer -- Tyler Mitchell -- took the cover photo.
Talley said he sent the op-ed to his former colleagues at Conde Nast, the publishing house that puts out magazines like Vogue and The New Yorker. However, he claimed that not one of his co-workers in Conde Nast -- including Anna Wintour -- wrote back to him about the piece. He alleged that this was because none of his contemporaries “see the world through black eyes.”
A source from Conde Nast told Page Six that Talley’s article was not ignored at the publishing house. The source said that multiple people read and appreciated Talley’s work.
According to The Cut, Talley’s memoir was originally supposed to come out in September. However, an excerpt from the book that painted an unflattering picture of Anna Wintour was published in the Daily Mail, attracting attention and convincing the publisher to move up the release to May 19.
Aside from his claims against other Conde Nast editors, Talley also claimed that Wintour removed him from the Met Gala red carpet interviews because he was “too old, too overweight, too uncool.” Talley also alleged that Wintour is “incapable of human kindness.”
In addition to his stories about his time in Vogue and Conde Nast, Talley also wrote about his time with fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld and legendary artist Andy Warhol. According to Talley, his decades-long close friendship with Lagerfeld was ended because he suggested that the designer collaborates with photographer Deborah Turbeville for an exhibition.
On the other hand, Talley’s time with Andy Warhol was spent getting Warhol’s hands out of his pants. Talley says the artist would only do this in public and never in private, and that he would just swat him away.
Talley also said that Warhol tried to get him involved with his series of Oxidation paintings, more commonly known as the piss paintings. Talley was once again approached by Warhol to take part in his sex paintings, but Talley refused.