In theaters May 25, the feature documentary directed by Kate Novack will follow Talley’s life as an arbiter of fashion and culture, from getting his start alongside Andy Warhol to his later work for Vogue and WWD. The Gospel According to André is produced by the same husband-and-wife team who made Eat This New York and Page One: Inside the New York Times, though this is director Kate Novack’s first solo feature.
The new trailer shows Talley in his signature caftans, tossing off hilarious and sharp and true fashion quips and insight. The person who “taught Anna Wintour about fashion” talks about growing up in the segregated South to being one of the most influential fashion curators of our time.
People from across industries talk about Talley’s legacy, from Whoopi Goldberg to Anna Wintour, one person calling him a “black superhero”. Larger-than-life is a phrase tossed out often to describe cultural influencers, but someone like Talley transcends daily life — he inspires us to become more audacious, more confident and to go ahead and wear that crazy coat.
During the trailer, he said, “You don’t get up and say, ‘Look, I’m black and I’m proud. You just do it, and somehow it impacts the culture.” And this documentary exemplifies Talley’s invincible spirit as the luxury fashion world’s first major African-American tastemaker. Anecdotes and archival footage pepper the trailer, taking us from ‘80s Paris runway footage to him kissing Rihanna on the cheek at the Met Gala. Throughout his career, he’s been an advocate for more African-American models to appear in magazines and on runways.
A review from Variety describes watching Talley live-blogging the inauguration and watching Trump take the oath of office. “He goes quiet, and Novack’s camera zeroes in on him as he watches, his face tracing a path from bemusement to disbelief to head-shaking sadness. Even for a man as voluble and eloquent as Talley, so many things still remain unsaid.”
Watch the trailer below.
https://youtu.be/KzZkVGCY5rY