Give me a front row seat at André Leon Talley’s auction

André Leon Talley has changed the way we see the world.As a former creative director trendDiana Vreeland’s mentor and the very definition of a public fashion editor, Tully’s persona and ardent love of fashion cemented his place in the cultural canon. At the turn of America’s Next Top Model.) often the only black editor in the room – 1994 New Yorker The profile referred to him as “the one and only”. He said his efforts to harness fashion fantasies to bring that vision closer to reality were not always fruitful, but he inspired the industry to change the image of Lilywhite. As a walking encyclopedia of tradition and a living advert for the promise of transformative change in the industry, Talley tells the story of black men of humble origins and loud gay men dressed as such for the world to hear. When he passed away in 2022, his absence felt like an earthquake.

On January 27th, Christie’s will launch a series of live and online auctions for the André Leon Tullie collection, following selections for tours in Palm Beach and Paris. Of course, there are Talley’s signature capes and caftans, including an extraordinary brocade number by Dapper Dan. (Years ago I worked as a researcher trend, And while confirming the facts of Talley’s dispatch to Paris, he showed me how to put a caftan on his shoulders. “Must be drape,’” he told me, adjusting the midnight blue candy around his frame.

Tully lived a glamorous life. According to the story, his house had four bedrooms, three of which he used as closets. in 2017 he said of new york times He used only two of the 11 rooms in his home. “I don’t have things just because they have a certain quality,” he said. “Because I like it as a beautiful object. I try to combine references and influences in an eclectic way.”as he said advertisement In 2014, she said, “My strength is what I’ve learned from the best people: Marella Agnelli, Sister Parrish, Henri Samuel!”

That’s why the art and decorations that Tully has assembled to make the house a home are of particular interest. The 1984 Andy Warhol portrait of Diana Vreeland as Napoleon is, well, ridiculous. A portrait by Karl Lagerfield, a longtime fanatical fan of Tully, depicting him as “The Empress on her way back to the Winter Palace” is more emotionally and politically ambivalent. Both pale in their effective portrait next to his 1990 Louis Vuitton hardside three-pack of suitcases. Each one is painted in yellow, red, and black letters: ALT. Wherever he went, he was there.

As for the furnishings, two pairs of Baccarat shiny candlesticks, one in parcel gold leaf, the other with a leaping dolphin base, are hot gossip among the Tully-flaming crowd. inspire the vision of exchanging flickering. A collection of glassware may tell a complex story of the design relationship between Europe and Africa: Hermès drinkware sets feature opaque white and translucent cobalt pitchers, highballs, old-fashioned beverages, Consists of a glass for water, this is Hi’s take on his style. About Tunisian crafts. An accompanying quartet of Dior translucent green grass offers a sort of Saharan landscape with giraffes and other critters. Did Tully see these as a testament to African beauty? A cross-cultural aesthetic exchange? Colonial kitsch? Once he was around to discuss drinks.