Starring: Andre Leon Talley
Distributor: Madman Films
Runtime: 96 mins. Reviewed in Jul 2018
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The advertising for this documentary states that you don’t have to be a fashionista to enjoy it. But, being a fashionista is almost a prerequisite. However, as the film goes on, there are quite a number of more substantial American themes.
And, for those not in the know, who is Andre Leon Talley? First thing to say is that he is a big and imposing presence, tall when he was younger, but filling out more than amply as he grew older so that by 2016 something of a giant presence. Many would notice him at once anyway, but his choice of wardrobe is is rather spectacular, large and particularly colourful. In fact, that is true of Andre, large and particularly colourful.
There are many talking heads in this film, many from the fashion industry who express their appreciation of Andre, designers like Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld. There are also a number of women who have encountered him in his journalist career and a number of models, like Naomi Campbell, seen in clips of catwalk shows. In fact, there are quite a lot of talking heads. And these include editors of Vogue that Andre worked for, especially the very well-known Anna Wintour, more benign than in a number of her other documentary appearances.
Andre was born in North Carolina in 1949. He has great praise for his grandmother who brought him up, instilled in him a sense of style and class despite being African Americans in the South. She was also religious, instilling some religious values into the young Andre which he has preserved, even as he has grown much older.
He is an interesting African-American who has experienced all kinds of prejudices. He is also a gay American, less talking about his sexual preferences, letting his flamboyant and camp manner make an impression.
He became a fashion journalist, working in Paris, doing lots of interviews, contributing articles to fashion magazines, which lead him back to the United States and a substantial career at Vogue and contributing to other magazines. He has met many, many people, many, many celebrities, and has become quite a celebrity himself, a knack for appreciating colour and style, a knack for improving fashion design, and more than a definite knack for communicating his ideas and opinions – seen in his handling of television interviews.
As the film goes on, it broadens its scope from the world of fashion to the United States and its values, issues of race, issues of class, issues of prejudice. And, the film takes us up to the campaign for the presidency and the election of Donald Trump as president. It comes as a surprise to Andre and his friends, giving some insight into those who opposed Trump, expected Hillary Clinton to win, and had to deal with the outcome. (Andre is very satisfied with the way that Melania Trump wore her clothes.) Andre is a great admirer of the Obamas, and pays tribute to the style and presence of Michelle Obama.
Essential viewing only for fashion fans but, ultimately, an entertaining portrait of a self-made American celebrity in the context of the late 20th century and the early 21st century.
Peter Malone MSC is an Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
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