Andre Leon Talley

For once, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is getting Oscar fashion right. How many ill-prepared supermodels, television talking heads, and even sportscasters have described fashion on the network pre-shows over the years, only to cause the millions who watch to yawn-with embarrassment? This year, on February 25 at the Kodak Theater, no less a fashion personage than Vogue's editor-at-large André Leon Tally will be what Academy Awards producer Laura Ziskin is calling "the voice of the Oscars." Talley will narrate the pre-show fashion coverage and be intricately involved with the event throughout the evening.
To a standing-room-only crowd this morning at the Academy Grand Lobby, Ziskin and Tally presented a talk entitled "A Celebration of Oscar Fashion: An Unprecedented Retrospective of Famous and Infamous Oscar Gowns." In front of a crowd that included Vanessa Getty (in a vintage mod coat and Nina Ricci dress), Frank Zambrelli of Judith Leiber, Hollywood jewelers Neil Lane and Martin Katz, makeup artist Paul Starr (who designed the runway show's faces), Lili et Cie owner Rita Watnick, LVMH's Katherine Ross (in Fendi cruise), stylist Arianne Phillips, Lilly Tartikoff, Barbara Guggenheim, Bridget Romanek, and Giorgio Armani's Wanda McDaniel, Monsieur Leon Tally narrated a red carpet fashion show extraordinaire (with a Philip Glass soundtrack) of vintage Oscar gowns curated by himself, Lisa Love, and the Vogue staff, along with Ziskin and her team. Bryan Rabin and David Rodgers coordinated the event with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Some of the great neo-classic gowns were displayed on mannequins: Renée Zellweger's yellow Jean Desses dress (purchased from Lily et Cie, as was Zellweger's Globe Globes vintage Dior dress this year); the yellow Valentino couture creation Cate Blanchett wore when she won best supporting actress for The Aviator; and the Dior by John Galliano number Nicole Kidman wore to the 69th Oscars, in a color Talley described as, "absinthe-a color that would be terrible on most people." He also added that the Chinoiseriefrock was a controversial choice at the time-Joan Rivers even made a nasty remark about it on live TV. "I was part of the choice of that dress," he proudly noted.
Clad in a black suit, bright blue shirt, and matching tie, Talley stuck to historical notes when describing the runway show of looks that included Theodora van Runkle's black ruffled dress for Faye Dunaway in 1968, Arnold Scaasi's bellbottom ensemble for Barbra Streisand in 1969, and Julia Roberts' vintage Valentino in 2001. But when it came to Cher's notorious, nearly nude beaded Bob Mackie ensemble, Tally let loose with his famous tongue. "This is the fireworks of all Oscar dresses!" he exclaimed with characteristic zeal. "This is Cher chic! There's nothing like it! She dared! She is one of Oscar's most originals." Tally also offered up a few Oscar fashion history tidbits: that Marc Jacobs' dress for Sofia Coppola in 2003 was based on a Vionnet original; that Edith Head's pale blue dress for Elizabeth Taylor in 1970 was lined to give the illusion of transparency-all the while directing the occasional, "Go on, work it, girl!" to the models. The audience ate it all up, and gave the gowns-and Talley himself (who had a director's chair with ALT on it for his narration)-a standing ovation.
"We started out wanting 10 great dresses," said Ziskin. "And then we got nearly 50 from the presenters, winners, and charities where these dresses now live. It will be great for Oscar history to now have them all shot together at once, almost a textbook for this year's nominees and stylists. No longer will you hear somebody at the Oscar pre-show ask, 'Who are you wearing?' because I call tell you, André will no doubt know the dress before the actresses can pronounce whose it is."

André Leon Talley was raised in Durham, North Carolina by his grandmother Bennie Davis. Even though he did not live in the lap of luxury, his grandmother's fastidious attention to detail gave him an "understanding of luxury."^[3] He escaped lackluster Durham through the gripping pages of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. After attending North Carolina Central University, Talley received his master's degree in French from Brown University. While at Brown, Talley befriended students from the nearby Rhode Island School of Design and often went on weekend trips to New York City. He is associated with former American Vogue editor-in-chief and Costume Institute consultant, Diana Vreeland.