Excerpts show the former editor taking aim at Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld.
Mikelle StreetAndre Leon Talley is an icon in the fashion industry. For a long time, he stood as the lone Black, queer man in the upper echelons of the industry — particularly within media. This story was told in part in the documentary Gospel According to Andre. But a new, buzzy memoir that not only tells the story of that rise but dishes on fashion personalities like Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld, from an insider's perspective, could turn that story into a television series.
The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir has been the talk of the fashion industry for the past few weeks as excerpts have been viewed by tabloids like The Daily Mail. In their trademark style, the publication has splashed the dishiest aspects across the span of a few stories. In them, Talley seemingly takes aim at Conde Nast brass Wintour, his former boss. He details how she cut him off after his weight gain and he found himself without the massively influential woman who he considered his friend. He went on to say that he has emotional and psychological scarring and that today he would "love for her to say something human and sincere to me."
He also detailed how the late Lagerfeld also cut him off, seemingly for trying to get him to work with the late photographer Deborah Turbevlle. Lagerfeld and Talley had been notoriously close, Lagerfeld assisting the former editor when he was still making his way in Paris.
But the memoir is more than that according to WWD; it's Andre's full story. He writes about his fight in the industry at large as a Black man and delves into "racism, binge eating, weight discrimination, sexual abuse and ageism, among other issues." And apparently, people are interested!
WWD sources say that Hulu and Amazon are interested in developing the memoir into a streaming series.
“I’m aiming very high," Talley said of the idea. For his part, his dream cast includes Will Smith as himself.
Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir releases May 19.
RELATED | André Leon Talley Opens Up About Racism In The Fashion Industry
00