On the eve of what would’ve been his 76th birthday, The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is opening a monumental tribute to the late André Leon Talley’s fashion legacy.
André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever, which opens Wednesday, October 15th, in Atlanta – with future shows in Savannah and Lacoste, France – also serves as a celebration for SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film’s 10th anniversary.
Curated by the museum’s creative director, Rafael Brauer Gomes, Style is Forever features an all-star cast of personal Talley pieces, including Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford for Gucci, Versace, and John Galliano for Dior.
“André Leon Talley didn’t just shape fashion, he shaped people,” Gomes told Ebony, “This exhibition is our love letter to a legend who carved a place in history with style and conviction.”
Gomes’s own repertoire – from his 2020 show, Ruth E. Carter’s Afrofuturism in Costume Design to his generative work on African fashion in 2024, Imani Ayssis: From Africa to the World – has uniquely prepared him for such a vast endeavor that leaps through eras and histories.
Talley wasn’t just a designer, but a journalist and fashion critic, which implies an approach that utilizes all forms of media to tell his story.
The exhibit blends Talley’s aesthetic choices, physical presence, and the numerous connections he’s made across the fashion and media realms he traversed. Style Is Forever not only demonstrates Talley’s expansive range as a designer – from streetwear to luxury brands and everything in between – but features contributions from Mariah Carey, Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, and Dapper Dan.
Each icon shows love to a towering pillar of our culture in their own special way. Alongside the exhibit, Rizzoli International Publications has also compiled a companion book composed by the founder of Black Fashion Fair, Antonie Gregory, which, he declares, will serve as a reminder of “what it means to tell our own stories.”
In an even greater show of appreciation for Talley’s brilliance and presentation, each museum will be displayed on a custom mannequin sculpted from a cast of the legend by SCAD alum Stephen Hayes.
It’s a remarkable choice, highlighting the improbability of Talley’s rise to acclaim given the discriminatory standards of appearance, race, and weight of the fashion that all too often work against men who look and think like Talley.
Instead of ignoring these realities, SCAD’s crew brings that understanding to the fore, matching Talley’s ambition for greatness despite all the obstacles standing in front of him. Each installation is a proclamation of what the fashion world could be if designers who do not fit the average mold are given the support and opportunities to reach their fullest potential.
It is both a celebration and an act of defiance against the mainstream status quo – two aspects of Talley’s worldview that must be included in any work that centers his legacy.
There is power in assembling and archiving the achievements of one of the most unique minds in modern fashion; someone who turned the lens from the largely white-centered industry to the most prominent Black cultural innovators in the game.
Style Is Forever pays that love forward, ensuring that Talley’s work and care extend to generations of designers, historians, and fashionistas alike.
SCAD’s Style Is Forever exhibition will open in Atlanta on October 15th.
Photo Credit: SCAD
