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Anna Wintour has acknowledged her 'complicated relationship' with Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley after his death yesterday, in a tribute paying tribute to her 'magnificent' friend

por Amado Ansell (2022-10-04)


Anna Wintour has acknowledged her 'complicated relationship' with Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley after his death yesterday, in a tribute paying tribute to her 'magnificent' friend. 

Talley, a fashion icon, died from a heart attack at a White Plains, New York hospital on Tuesday aged 73.

His death was first reported at 7pm last night but it wasn't until shortly before 10am this morning that his former boss and friend Wintour shared a tribute to the fashion mogul - amid increasing pressure and criticism over her silence.

However, a source close to Wintour told DailyMail.com she felt she couldn't rush because she needed time 'to craft a statement that reflected the loss of someone who had been one of her closest friends and confidants for decades.'

In the statement, Wintour said the loss of Talley is 'immeasurable,' and that she will miss him despite their 'complicated past.' 

The pair's long-time friendship came to an abrupt end when she apparently froze him out for being 'too old, too overweight, too uncool', he claimed.

In his 2020 memoir, he wrote that he was left with 'huge emotional and psychological scars' after Wintour made remarks about his weight and in one scorching passage, he wrote: 'She is immune to anyone other than the powerful and famous people who populate the pages of Vogue… .

I am no longer of value to her.'

But on Wednesday morning Wintour's tribute to Talley said: 'The loss of André is felt by so many of us today: 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. 

'Even his stream of colorful faxes and emails were a highly anticipated event, something we all looked forward to,' she said. 

'Yet 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, Universitas Alma Ata Bantul too.

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.' 

Vogue confirmed Talley died of a heart attack on Tuesday at the age of 73.
But a friend of Talley's for 45 years, Texas anesthesiologist Dr. Yvonne Cormier told the  that he had passed away from complications from coronavirus.

She added he had underlying health issues related to his weight.

COVID has been known to cause lasting heart conditions in patients, and small blood clots can form in the heart, according to  

Talley is remembered as a driving force in Vogue's success, serving as the magazine's long-acclaimed creative director and American editor-at-large through the 1980s and '90s. 

Andre Leon Talley , seen here in an interview with Tamron Hall in May, passed away from a heart attack caused by complications from COVID-19 on Tuesday night

He worked alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for several years, developing a close friendship with the notoriously icy editor, until she froze him for being 'too old, too overweight, too uncool'.

Wintour has now described their friendship as 'complicated,' but said in an obituary on Wednesday she will miss her longtime friend

Twitter users claimed the fashion magazine tweeted about getting rid of 'bad vibes' when news of Talley's death broke

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