André Leon Talley Is Not 'Gay'

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Andre Leon Talley has never met a label he didn't like. Except for "gay." In a profile in Vanity Fair's September issue, Talley, the iconic fashion editor who once served as Vogue's Editor-at-Large and is now Editor for Numero Russia, told editor Vanessa Grigoriadis that doesn't like being called "gay." First of all, even as a child he never thought he was gay, just different; Second, he's never been in love with a man. Just two women. Here's a summation, via Vanity Fair:

"When Grigoriadis asks Talley if he thought he was gay, even in high school, he responds, 'No, no, no. I was just into my magazines and the drawings. I had a very strict upbringing, almost puritanical. I lived there all the way through college. I was in my grandmother's house, and I respected that!' Talley tells Grigoriadis that he rejects the 'label' and says that, while he has 'had very gay experiences, yes, I swear on my grandmother's grave that I never slept with a single designer in my life. Never, ever desired, never was asked, never was approached, never, ever bought, in my entire career. Never. Not one. Skinny or fat. Never.'

"Talley also tells Grigoriadis that he has never been in love with a man--only two women: one a fellow student in Providence, the other a society woman with whom he fell in love after a night of dancing in Manhattan and whose name he declines to share because she later married and had children."

As for that other woman in his life, Anna Wintour, Talley tells Grigoriadis that it was she who made his Vogue career possible. "I wouldn't have stayed at Vogue as long as I did without Anna being there. She was my biggest ally. There could not have been another way," said Talley, who was also a judge on America's Next Top Model.

(Image via Christopher Macsurak's Flickr.)