Former Creative Director Of Vogue André Leon Talley Dies

André Leon Talley, the towering former creative director and editor at large of Vogue magazine, has died. He was 73.

Talley was the first Black person to hold his role at Vogue. His relationship with Vogue started at Duke University, where his grandmother cleaned dorms; Talley would walk to campus in his youth to read the magazine.

His relationship with Vogue started at Duke University, where his grandmother cleaned dorms; Talley would walk to campus in his youth to read the magazine.

Talley was also a familiar figure to TV audiences, serving as a judge on “America's Next Top Model" and appearing on "Sex and the City" and "Empire."

Talley had been in the hospital battling an unknown illness.

Talley was an influential fashion journalist who worked at Women's Wear Daily and Vogue and was a regular in the front row of fashion shows in New York and Europe. At 6-feet-6 inches tall, Talley cut an imposing figure wherever he went, with his stature, his considerable influence on the fashion world, and his bold looks.

In a 2013 Vanity Fair spread titled "The Eyeful Tower," Talley was described as "perhaps the industry's most important link to the past." Designer Tom Ford told the magazine Talley was "one of the last great fashion editors who has an incredible sense of fashion history. … He can see through everything you do to the original reference, predict what was on your inspiration board."

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.