The Chiffon Trenches

Longtime Vogue creative director Talley (A.L.T.: A Memoir) writes an eloquent insider’s account of his influential time in the fashion world. Throughout, he discusses encounters with famous designers, as well as his support of underdogs such as John Galliano, whom he backed financially and helped launch a career-making fashion show, and maintaining a long friendship with the mercurial German designer Karl Lagerfeld. Juicy, behind-the-scenes stories of various creatives, their muses, and the models who wore these men’s iconic designs fill this smorgasbord of insider accounts in a narrative that finely balances Talley’s intellect and panache, traits he has come to be known for. Having to fight twice as hard for his position given his race and sexual orientation, Talley is a kingpin of fashion, as this account proves.