Andre Leon Talley to Address SCAD Graduates

Vogue's editor-at-large will speak at Savannah and Atlanta ceremonies

SAVANNAH, Ga., May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's editor-at-large, will address the Savannah College of Art and Design 2008 graduating class at commencement ceremonies in Savannah and Atlanta May 31. Talley will speak to graduates at SCAD's 28th Savannah commencement ceremony, 9 a.m., at the Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave. He then will address graduates at SCAD-Atlanta's second commencement ceremony, 6 p.m., at the Georgia World Congress Center (Sidney Marcus Auditorium, Building A), 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. N.W.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080505/DC21336 )

Talley's career at Vogue began in 1983, when he was hired as fashion news director. He served as creative director from 1988-95. After living in Paris for a few years, he returned to Vogue in 1998 to take on his current role. His editor-at-large duties led him to be the official voice of Oscar fashion at the 79th Annual Academy Awards and to curate a celebration of Oscar fashion: a retrospective of famous--and infamous--Oscar gowns.

Talley graduated from Brown University with a master's degree in French studies and went on to work with Andy Warhol at Interview magazine. From there, he began to forge a career in the world of high style, working closely with some of the most celebrated names in fashion, the arts and Hollywood.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, Talley's work with legendary style authority Diana Vreeland, his professed mentor, confirmed his interest in fashion and its many cultural manifestations. Like Bennie Frances Davis, the grandmother who raised him, Vreeland became one of the primary inspirations in Talley's life, and their relationship is richly detailed in his autobiography, "A.L.T.: A Memoir" (Villard, 2003). His latest book, "A.L.T. 365+" (powerHouse, 2005), is his first art monograph. Talley's photographs and text chronicle 365 days of his life and offer a privileged and rare inside look at the people and places he encounters in his work and travels.

In addition to his work at Vogue, Talley is a member of SCAD's Board of Trustees. In May 2000, SCAD honored Talley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was renamed the Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award and has been presented to other fashion icons such as Oscar de la Renta, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs. In 2008 the award will be presented to John Galliano. In 2004, Zac Posen was honored with the Andre Leon Talley New Look Award.

Talley received the CFDA's Eugenia Sheppard Award for Excellence in Fashion Journalism in 2003. He is an active member of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church and is deeply involved in its many programs.

About SCAD

Named one of Kaplan's "25 cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future," the Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., and in Lacoste, France. Undergraduate and graduate degree programs also are offered online through SCAD-eLearning. The college offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Fine Arts, and Master of Urban Design degrees. For more information about the college, visit www.scad.edu.