On a chilly Tuesday night in Paris, Vogue100 and Christie’s gathered André Leon Talley’s closest friends and fashion folk for an intimate celebration in honor of his highly anticipated estate sale. During the height of the Haute Couture debuts and just a few days following the anniversary of the esteemed Vogue editor and fashion extraordinaire’s passing, the festivities paid tribute to an icon and his lasting legacy.
Already declared “the fashion sale of the century” by the New York Times, the catalog chronicles a life lived on the grandest scale; Louis Vuitton trunks and Oscar de la Renta caftans abound. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz, Horst P. Horst, Cecil Beaton, and others show his enduring reverence for the medium. More striking still, personal gifts from titans like Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent reveal his legendary talent for friendship. Together, the lots form a portrait of a brilliant, irreplaceable man. All proceeds will go to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina.
Lapérouse, the landmark 18th-century eatery, served as the evening’s opulent venue. Friends of Talley, Vogue, and Christie’s poured into the labyrinth. The crowd, lit by candlelight, glittered. Vogue’s Edward Enniful held court at the top of the stairs. Dressed in all black, Law Roach—the stylist behind Zendaya and Celine Dion—stood out in the ornate room. Underneath the low lacquered ceiling, Hassan Pierre, the founder of Mason de Mode, chatted with Jordanian designer Amina Muoddi. Newly minted television star and long-time couture darling Tina Leung drew attention with signature blue hair paired with a floral Oscar de la Renta mini dress.
Lynn Yager, Talley’s longtime colleague and friend, played hostess to the evening’s festivities. “It is dazzling to be in Paris and to celebrate somebody who, of course, would love to be at this dinner. It embodies many of the things that he loved: fabulous people, a city he adored, and a place where we got to speak his beautiful French.”
At the helm of Talley’s estate stands his best friend, Alexis Thomas. Joined by Talley’s godson, Jonathan Geffrard, and her son, Chase Beck, Thomas shared a few emotional words with the group.
“It’s a great honor for us to be here in Paris and for us to represent the estate,” Thomas began. “I miss him more than anything but know that if he were here, he’d absolutely love it. He’d probably be sitting in the corner because everyone always came to him, as he would say. So, I invite you to discover his sale because I know everybody would like to have a little piece of André, and there’s a lot of a little bit of André to have.”
At last, guests sat down for a decadent feast of beef tartare, sea bass carpaccio, truffled croque royal, chicken supreme, and, of course, Lapérouse’s chocolate soufflé. They laughed and gossiped, tables littered with Champagne flutes. Vogue France editors, including Jade Simon and Thomas Delagee, chatted with Vogue menswear editor Michael Philouze. Street-style maven Heart Evangelista caught up with Vogue’s Laura Paterson.
A surprise awaited guests. Dante Bowe, the Grammy-award-winning gospel star, stood and serenaded the crowd with his latest hit, “Hide Me.” The performance electrified guests, who climbed on top of banquets to get a better view. As Bowe’s voice soured, so did the energy in the room. The ballad speaks to resistance, inspiration, and triumph—themes not unrelated to Talley’s life.
Afterward, guests descended back into Paris—another party, to dance, to rest before a day of shows—but all felt closer to the spirit of the great, late Talley. In its energy and creativity, the dinner, like the sale to come, reflected Talley’s cultural, artistic, and personal legacy.
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