The Gospel According to André

André Leon Talley isn’t a fashion designer himself, but several well-known haute couture figures appear in Kate Novack’s documentary, since Talley made his name as a fashion editor. Best known for his decades-long stint at Vogue, Talley is semi-retired now. When he isn’t hosting his satellite radio show and dressing journalist Tamron Hall, he looks back at his career from the perspective of his well-appointed home in White Plains, NY. Talley grew up in the Jim Crow South of Durham, NC, where he took inspiration from his strict, stylish grandmother. What she lacked in wealth, she made up for in style. "My escape from reality," Talley remembers, "was Vogue magazine." His interest in French culture led him to learn the language—and earn a master’s degree in French literature at Brown University—which would serve him well during his conversations with members of the fashion set. In 1974, he moved to New York, where he secured a gig as assistant to Vogue editor Diana Vreeland for a fashion show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which led to jobs with Interview, Women’s Wear Daily, and eventually Vogue itself. As designer Tom Ford notes, "He’s so big and he’s so grand, I think a lot of people think he’s crazy." His regal bearing led Interview colleague Fran Lebovitz’s mother to believe that he was an African prince (Talley’s 6’ 6" height has also encouraged him to embrace capes and caftans). While Talley might have seemed to be an unlikely fashion guru in the 1970s, Novack’s admiring portrait—which explores issues of race as much as style—makes it hard to imagine a field in which he would have been better suited. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)