Andre Leon Talley

“Fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez was a major part of my early career.”

“Beauty is health. Health is beauty.”

“You cannot live your life in the elitist world of fashion and not step out or you're disconnected. You have to realize that fashion is not the endgame.”

“I do believe there's a heaven. I do believe that God has given me the resilience and the survival skills to withstand the chiffon trenches.”

“I'm usually at home and in bed by 10 o'clock. I do not want to be out at anybody's New Year's Eve party.”

“I love people - it is not the fashion, it is the people in fashion I love.”

“Mrs. Obama has a hug - a sincere and friendly embrace - that has become familiar to countless supporters from coast to coast. And when she talks to you, she focuses all her calm attention on your face.”

“I only take risks in couture, but I don't take risks in athleticism.”

“The little black dress expresses a moment of freedom and individuality every time.”

“I don't tear down. I prefer to build up.”

“People love fashion exhibits because they can fantasize. They can respond to a dress even if they can never wear a dress like that.”

“I love Russian culture. I don't know the young Russia, I'm not at all familiar with young Russia, but the old school Russia is good enough for me for the moment.”

“I only watch MSNBC for the news.”

“The zenith of elegance in any woman's wardrobe is the little black dress, the power of which suggests dash and refinement.”

“Uggs can be as chic as heels for women.”

“You can never have too many black pumps. Never!”

“The late Estee Lauder says you can never wear white shoes after Labor Day. But of course, in today's world, that does not exist.”

“I have always admired stylishly confident women who dress with great authority. This lifelong love of elegance began with the humble wardrobe of my late grandmother Mrs. Bennie Frances Davis.”

“Reality TV, although I'm a part of it, I think reality TV is a terrible thing.”

“I went to Brown to be a French professor, and I didn't know what I was doing except that I loved French. When I got to Paris and I could speak French, I know how much it helped me to establish relationships with Karl Lagerfeld, with the late Yves St. Laurent. French, it just helps you if you're in fashion. The French people started style.”