Though Vogue editor at large André Leon Talley will be a judge for the next season of America’s Next Top Model, he swears he doesn’t watch TV–except, that is, for MSNBC. “I watch Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews and Keith [Olbermann],” Mr. Talley told the Transom on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the New York Junior League’s 58th Annual Winter Ball, where he was master of ceremonies. “I would even go so far as to call Chris Matthews a homeboy.”
Famously subject to an Anna Wintour intervention a half-decade ago when his weight passed 300 pounds (is that three Annas, or four?), Mr. Talley is optimistic about the size revolution to which the fashion industry seems to be warming. “I think ‘plus-size’ is fine; I don’t think it’s a derogatory term at all. I think ‘plus-a-size’ would even be better,” he said. “Gabby [Sidibe]’s on the covers of magazines-what a wonderful thing that is for a ‘plus-a’ girl. … Let’s just coin that tonight. ‘Plus-a.'”
Mr. Talley, who is six and a half feet tall, cut quite a figure at the Plaza’s Grand Ballroom: He wore a floor-length Chado Ralph Rucci coat silk-screened with photos of the late Pina Bausch’s ballet company, along with a crystal-studded N.A.A.C.P. T-shirt and the largest pair of Roger Vivier buckle flats the Transom has ever seen.
Despite all this, he didn’t quite steal the show-that honor went to Junior League vice chair Kathryn Chalmers, who wore a breathtaking Alexander McQueen gown with an impressive train. Ms. Chalmers said she considered the event “an appropriate time to celebrate the irreplaceable designer,” though she’d bought the dress from Gilt Groupe (where she also works) months ago.