Fahion icon and VOGUE creative director, died at age 73 on Tuesday, Jan. 18, according to a statement on his official Instagram account. Talley broke tremendous ground in fashion, becoming one of the world's foremost tastemakers--at a time when a Black man climbing the ranks through fashion was a rarity.

Talley was born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Durham, North Carolina. He was enthralled by former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, and her style sparked his immersion in the world of fashion. After he moved to New York City in the 1970s, he found himself connecting with huge names like Karl Lagerfeld and Andy Warhol. Talley joined Vogue in 1983 as news director and was promoted to creative director in 1988; eventually serving as editor-at-large. Talley remained a mainstay at VOGUE for nearly four decades.

"I worked behind the scenes. I did it in dulcet tones, and I was persistent and tenacious....I always assumed a very quiet role. I didn't scream and yell and shout....That was the best strategy, because that was the world I moved in. After all, it was Vogue, darling," Talley told Tamron Hall in 2017, at an event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Talley was style consultant to Michelle Obama; served as a host on America's Next Top Model, and was awarded the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France for his contributions to fashion. His M.A. from Brown was in French Studies; Talley also served on the board of trustees for the Savannah College of Art and Design for 20 years.

VOGUE editor-in-chief Anna Wintour issued an official statement on Talley's death.

"The loss of André is felt by so many of us today: the designers he enthusiastically cheered on every season, and who loved him for it; the generations he inspired to work in the industry, seeing a figure who broke boundaries while never forgetting where he started from; those who knew fashion, and Vogue, simply because of him," Wintour said in Vogue's obituary.

"Yet it's the loss of André as my colleague and friend that I think of now; it's immeasurable. He was magnificent and erudite and wickedly funny—mercurial, too," she added. "Like many decades-long relationships, there were complicated moments, but all I want to remember today, all I care about, is the brilliant and compassionate man who was a generous and loving friend to me and to my family for many, many years, and who we will all miss so much."

You can read tributes to Talley from notables like Viola Davis and Roxane Gay below.