→ Fashion Prompt is a weekly series where I entice your curiosity about fashion through an excerpt, quote, photo or other piece of media that you may have saved, scrolled past or forgotten about.
Hello my swans,
Today is a special issue of Fashion Prompt. For one, I’m coming off the heels of thinking about the Met Gala and watching The Devil Wears Prada 2 (spoiler: I actually REALLY loved it?!), so I’ve had a lot of sartorial thoughts bubbling up all week.
But also, it happens to be my birthday…!
So, it felt only natural for today’s prompt to be around a man whose energy feels like the essence of a Taurus (although he’s a Libra!) and whose words I’ve been thinking about lately.
In the 1999 documentary, “The September Issue,” André Leon Talley famously says:
“We have to see clothes! First of all, it’s been a very bleak week so far. It’s been Bleak Street over here in America. It’s a famine of beauty. It’s a famine of beauty, honey. My eyes are starving for beauty!”
We all know this man had no shortage of good quotes and opinions. But it’s this one in particular that has continued to live on in many ways; especially in the age of the internet. Which made me wonder what makes it so gripping.
He said this in 2009, while lamenting about the lack of glamour and creativity he was seeing in the fashion world during a Vogue meeting. The words he uses are so specific. “Starving” and “famine” adds a level of seriousness to fashion that many would scoff at. But he didn’t stutter. He’s talking about beauty not as a luxury, but a source of life.
We’re currently at the tail end of Met Gala week, the glitter has faded and many reflections are sinking in. It seems like every year since 2018, there’s been an increasingly louder sentiment from fashion lovers online that echo Talley’s sentiments: “My eyes are starving for beauty! We have to see clothes!
Once again, the internet gave an underwhelming “Oh, pretty,” response to many of the looks this year. Hell, the fashion assistants are generating more buzz than anything. Which is oddly beautiful in itself.
So, are we in a famine of beauty at the moment? Is the creativity dying? Are the looks getting quieter? More boring? The reception from many seems to be a resounding yes.
But it’s not the same kind of craving for beauty that Talley was referring to in ‘09. Now, in 2026, it almost feels more dire. Because true beauty (craftsmenship, human talent, meaningful design) is not being prioritized, funded or supported.
In fact, it’s becoming cheapened through the push of AI into the arts — a topic that shockingly came up in The Devil Wears Prada 2. In the film, we see a similar fashion legend to Talley (albeit fictional), Miranda Priestly try to convince the Elon Musk equivalent in the film to reconsider the importance — the “commitment” to beauty. I’ll let you watch the movie to find out if she succeeds.
What is the nature of beauty in fashion?
Is beauty enough for fashion to make an impact?
How have designers redefined the idea of beauty through their work?
What is the most beautiful thing in your closet? Why?
Can fashion and beauty serve as a form of escapism? If so, how does the MET Gala play into this — especially when more and more people are disillusioned by it?
“The September Issue” Documentary
In The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley
The Ugly History of Beautiful Things by Kate Kelleher
This article in Vogue Australia on how “ugly fashion” fascinates us and makes us dress better.
The looks I found beautiful, boring or both + my favorites of the night.
First category is: great gowns, beautiful gowns. The ones that left me briefly enchanted and a little sleepy. There were many examples like this that had me thinking about today’s prompt around beauty — and the limits of it.
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