Last Friday I went and saw a showing of the legendary Andre Leon Talley's documentary, "The Gospel According to Andre" and it was absolutely amazing. This documentary documented Andre's life, where he came from, his take on the fashion industry and his experiences within it. Besides seeing what an amazing man and creative he is and how knowledgable he is of the industry he is in I also saw other topics along the lines of race, discrimination and also showing how the experience of someone black entering the fashion industry is much different from a white person's experience but it's never talked about.
Andre worked hard for the positions and opportunities he got, for the front row seats at all of the shows, and the relationships and friendships he had with important designers but in the eyes of some others him working hard to get where he was and where they were didn't make sense and they accredited it to him possibly having sexual relationships with the designers which was completely false, this goes to show that we really do have to work twice as hard to get what they have or even show that we deserve it. Andre had many hardships as a black man in the fashion industry but suppressed them instead of speaking on them, but I do feel like it is important to confront people openly discriminating in a professional manner so they know that it's not okay and they shouldn't keep doing it.
I also feel that Andre deserved more important positions and positions of power than he got, due to the fact that a lot of the important people in fashion learned from him, i.e. Anna Wintour. Andre should have been given the position of Editor-in-Chief of Vogue by now, I'm not sure if he would even want it (Who wouldn't) but the question is has he even been offered because he's more than qualified. He should be on the CFDA Board of Fashion, and much more, there comes a point when we need to stop just being grateful to be in the room or at the table but ask and demand for what we know we deserve.
Overall it was a great documentary, and very inspiring to keep working for what I want and where I want to be. It also made me envious of how bad I wish I was coming into the fashion industry during Andre's time when everything was so fresh, innovative and organic, everyone was original and honored the essence of creating timeless things. If you haven't seen the documentary I suggest you figure out how you can see it, it'll leave you memorized and thinking.