The André Leon Talley Report Card: Pink on the Inside
Vogue's André Leon Talley is the best thing about America's Next Top Model and also an art historian who gave us all a lesson on the evolution of fabulousness. What can we learn from him today?
Outfit: White shirt and tunic, as usual. But this tent was a stiff, sheeny gray material on the outside with bright fuchsia sleeves on the inside. Reversible? His best of the season.
Accessory: His tusk on a chain, again.
Education: Not only did we get a little lesson on Matisse, but we also got a full lecture on Vu, a French photography magazine from the '20s and '30s that would have loved to have pictures Tyra Banks took by holding tablecloths over models' heads.
Agreeableness: As is customary, he ignored the guest judge, but this week he actually asked a noted fashion photographer to finish his sentence when he couldn't come up with a suitably harsh critique for one of the girl's photos. Are they becoming—quelle horreur!—friends?
Uses of Dreckitude: Zero!
Grade: An improvement over the sleepy disaster last week. He was astute, informative, and enjoyed a slight ramble about a courtesan who got a kingdom from a duke. However, he was not at his cane-waving, "high fashion"-raving pinnacle. (B)
Next week is the season finale of America's Next Top Model. And ALT still has not accepted our offer to take him out to lunch. What's he waiting for? An engraved invitation? Hmm, that's not such a bad idea.