The Gospel According to André

“The story is an African-American man who came from very humble beginnings, and who climbed to the top of the fashion world. And spent 48 years in the chiffon trenches.” I don’t know about you, but that’s as much of a by-line I’ll ever need to be totally invested in an upcoming film. The story of André Leon Talley, a living legend and walking couture-wrapped quote, is exceptional – that we knew – but we’re about to find out so much more come spring 2018. Here’s what we've parsed so far about “The Gospel According To André”, the long-awaited André Leon Talley documentary.

Just like the red Norma Kamali blanket coat A.L.T. was recently pictured wearing in his home (which has eleven rooms, of which Mr Talley uses two and an invite is highly exclusive), everything about this fixture of fashion is larger than life (he is literally 6 feet 7 tall). His use of language, his unlikely story, the eveningwear seemingly permanently affixed to his body. I was first introduced to André Leon Talley when secretly catching Oprah re-runs as a teenager, becoming more and more enthralled with each time he’d grace the screen for a brief passage (“Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton”, “America’s Next Top Model” and of course “The September Issue”). His unabashed sense of self, his grandeur, his queerness and blackness was something that immediately resonated with me, even if I didn’t exactly grasp why at the time. I’ve always wondered when this kind of documentary would be done, safe to say it’s long overdue.

THE STORY

“The Gospel” was directed by long-time producer but first-time director Kate Novack, even though names like Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter were in the running. Novack's documentary tells the story of a black man born in segregation-era Durham, North Carolina, who was raised by his grandmother Bennie Davis. Grandmother Davis worked as a maid at the Duke University dorms and she was the one to give inspire his love for all things elegant. Talley was an avid reader, he devoured the then bi-weekly editions of Vogue the local library stocked from age twelve and worked his way through to Truman Capote’s short stories and anything else he could find. Much of this profound relationship with his grandmother can be found in the 2003 memoir “A.L.T.: A Memoir”.

Diana Vreeland and André Leon Talley (1974)

After earning a scholarship, Talley got his master’s degree in French Studies in 1973 from Brown University with a thesis on 19th-century artist Delacroix and the poet Baudelaire. He ended up in New York in 1974 at Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Talley then went on to work with the iconic Diana Vreeland at the Met's Costume Institute and became the Paris editor for Women's Wear Daily before starting his career side by side with Anna Wintour at Vogue U.S. “It's a famine of beauty!” The film supposedly also delves into the racism Talley endured on his rise to the top and the foul rumours that ensued simply by him carving out a career in fashion.

André Leon Talley and Bill Cunningham by Arthur Elgort (1984)

Talley also talks about how Women's Wear Daily editor, John Fairchild, shaped his fashion lexicon immensely. "He was a genius. He would stand over my shoulders and fold his arms, over my typewriter, and talk”, he remembers.

THE PEOPLE

Grace Jones and André Leon Talley (1984)

No good documentary is complete without a talking head, only for this one they are the most fashion-famous visages of Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, Valentino Garavani, Marc Jacobs and Manolo Blahnik among others. We’ll also be treated to a good deal of archival footage documenting André Leon Talley’s journey from those earlier years answering phones in Andy Warhol's Factory in the 70s to his time as editor-at-large of Vogue as well as some killer fashion shows from the years gone by.

THE TEAM

“The Gospel According to André” was directed and produced by Kate Novack, who has previously produced documentaries like “Page One: Inside The New York Times” and 2004’s “Eat This New York”. “The First Monday in May”-producer Andrew Rossi and Josh Braun are also credited as producers. Executive producers are Bob and Lindsey Acree, Daniel Pine and Ken and Marianne Novack. The film’s cinematographer was Bryan Sarkinen. "The Gospel" premiered on September 8 2017 at the Toronto Film Festival and early reviews describe the feature as ‘loving and absorbing’.

WHAT’S NEXT

No official release date has been set, but it’s supposed to be a shoe-in for early 2018. My expectations are quite high, but I’m not thinking the film will get too in-depth or personal, seen as a shroud of enigma has always wafted around Mr Talley. I suggest you shoot the people at Ralph Rucci an email already to order your custom cape look, start polishing your Roger Vivier diamond-encrusted flats and mentally prepare for springtime.