André Leon Talley is one of the most influential person in fashion .Having spent his career working with fashion heavyweights like Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour and taking part to each fashion weeks he’s the right person to give some career tips to fashion students .
LEARN THE HISTORY ( BUT FORGET GOOGLE)
He recommends to study the history because everything is influenced by the past and you can’t go into the future without knowing what happened first. Talking about fashion, he really suggests to study the history of the big names who made the story but without using Google.
In an interview with fashionista he said “You can’t go toward the future without some sense of the past. Everything in life goes in cycles..Nobody with any kind of authority can speak about fashion — a student, Vivienne [Westwood], myself, Marc Jacobs — without the knowledge of what Coco Chanel did for fashion, what she gave in terms of freedom and what Yves Saint Laurent did in his entire career..You have to do your homework. In life, homework is important. That’s the advice I give to students… It’s not necessarily about being on the computer and Googling it. That’s not enough. You have to explore it.”
IF YOU’RE A DESIGNER AND WANT TO HOMAGE TO THE BIG NAMES IT’S OKAY
For André Leon Talley if a student is inspired by a famous designer and want to add some pieces in the collection to homage to him/her it’s okay , this mean they’re paying attention to something that’s very important in the world of fashion.
LEARN TO LISTEN
“When I got a job with Andy Warhol where I was making $50 a week, I was happy to do that because I was in the world where I knew I would learn. Young people don’t know how to listen. You take it in and digest it. Being in the world of Andy Warhol, I felt very much respected, but I didn’t just go up to Andy and start talking with him. You have to respect your mentors and keep your nose to the grindstone and keep exploring your vision and your dreams. And if you have something, people can see it.”
What do you think about ? Which other advice would you add?
