What Andre Talley told me when he came to Lagos – By Fola Francis, fashion designer

André Leon Talley was a force to reckon with. He was known as the Godfather of fashion. It pains me that I have to address him using the past tense “was”.

He was a strong voice that paved the way for generations of black and queer fashion designers and enthusiasts, especially throughout the decades he worked at Vogue and when he became the Editor at large there. He was one of the reasons why I got into fashion writing and creative direction.

I first knew about ALT when I watched America’s next top model like a decade ago. People always say “never meet your heroes”, so you don’t get disappointed. When I met him here in Nigeria at the Arise fashion week 2019, I was in awe and couldn’t even walk up the courage to talk to him at first.

He was sitting outside the hall just after the shows talking to some models and giving them words of encouragement. I walked up to him, and he said he loved what I was wearing. He also spoke about his love for Nigerian culture and our agbada and how he intended to buy a lot of them because they were very much his style. ALT was a true icon and a cultural phenomenon, and he will be greatly missed.

– Fola Francis is a fashion writer and designer.