It is yet another bitter struggle of high-end fashion.
Vogue legend André Leon Talley is being dragged out of his $ 1 million New York home by former CEO of Manolo Blahnik USA, who claims that the former editor is $ 500,000 behind on rent.
Talley fell out dramatically with his former close friend, the powerful shoe executive George Malkemus – who expanded Manolo Blahnik in the United States and, most recently, partnered with Sarah Jessica Parker in his SJP collection.
Malkemus has now filed a lawsuit against Talley in an attempt to get him out of White Plains’ palatial estate.
Talley, 72, has long insisted that the historic 11-room colonial house, with sumptuous gardens at 75 Worthington Road, is yours, telling the New York Times in 2018: “It’s my sanctuary.”
But new court documents seen by Page Six claim that the real owners are Malkemus and her business partner and husband Anthony Yurgaitis, who bought the house in 2004 for just over $ 1 million.
The pair have known Talley for nearly 40 years. However, on November 12, 2020, Malkemus, “initiated a summary non-payment lawsuit in the White Plains City Court … seeking to evict Talley from the house and a $ 515,872 money sentence against Talley, 97 representing alleged delays ”, new court documents declare.
Talley – who in 1988 was appointed by Anna Wintour to be the creative director of Vogue, the first African American person to hold office – responded by filing his own lawsuit against Malkemus and Yurgaitis at the Westchester Supreme Court on January 25, 2021 .
He claims that the two, who were “long-standing and trusted friends”, agreed to buy the house for him and transfer the title as soon as he paid them the $ 1,020,000 purchase price.
While Malkemus and Yurgaitis claim that Talley is late in rent, the former Vogue general editor’s lawsuit alleges: “This action arises from the Defendants’ undue attempt to evict Talley from a home … which is legitimately his, so they can sell the property. “
He claims that he has lived in the house since then and paid more than the purchase price, totaling $ 1,075,588, in January 2020, with his court documents stating: “He also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to third parties to maintain and improve the House. “
Ironically, the house features several Blahnik items in a prominent place, including a sketch of a shoe made by the famous designer himself.
But it is alleged that Malkemus and Yurgaitis now “sought to invoke a never-operating” lease “to enrich themselves, forcing Talley to leave the house, seeking an additional $ 515,872.97 from Talley for alleged” delays “and selling the house only for your own benefit.
The newspapers claim that, “Over time, as friends, Talley and Malkemus helped each other not only in professional matters, but also in personal matters … as he ascended into the world of fashion and found his circumstances changing frequently and the demands of your time has increased. “
The newspapers claim that, in 1999, Talley needed to buy a new car, but was unable to do so because of “problems with his credit”. Malkemus reportedly offered to buy the car on his behalf, using $ 45,000 in funds provided by Talley.
Then, in 2004, Talley was renting a house that developed a mold problem and he needed to find a new place near New York. “At the time, Talley’s work schedule was particularly demanding and he was unable to obtain traditional funding,” says the suit.
Instead, Talley’s lawsuit claims that he, Malkemus and Yurgaitis entered into a “gentlemen’s agreement” and that Talley would provide an initial payment of $ 120,000 and Malkemus and Yurgaitis “would use the down payment and own funds to buy the house for the Talley benefit “.
“The parties agreed that Talley would be the sole owner, occupy and care for the home. It was agreed and always understood that Talley would, in time, ‘pay’ the balance of the purchase price paid by the defendants, at which point the title would then be formally transferred to Talley ”, states the work of the former editor.
“In the meantime, the defendants would hold the title to Talley.”
But, “Talley made episodic payments over time, dictated by his income stream,” totaling approximately $ 1,075,558 on January 1, 2020.
The documents detail a highly unusual arrangement that, “although Talley has resided in the home from 2004 to the present, he has made episodic payments to the Defendants that he understood to be share payments.
“The timing and amount of these episodic payments were based on Talley’s cash flow. … Talley never made these payments to the Defendants on a monthly basis, and was not requested. “
Talley also claims in the lawsuit that he personally spent more than $ 200,000 to maintain the house, including replacing the roof and the boiler advertisement replacing the windows and shutters, spending at least $ 200,000 on improvements.
But, “Despite this, around March 2020, the Defendants began to discuss with Talley their interest in selling the house only for their own financial benefit.
“They started asking him to make additional payments or vacate the house so that it could be sold to third parties.”
Talley claims in his lawsuit that this discussion took place just before a bankruptcy petition against Manolo Blahnik USA.
“In exchange for his decades of friendship and trust, on November 12, 2020, Malkemus initiated a summary default lawsuit in the White Plains City Court … seeking to evict Talley from home and a money sentence against Talley valued at $ 515,872, 97 representing alleged delays. “
“Since 2004, Talley has always operated with the understanding that the house was his, and that the agreement could be formalized by reimbursing the purchase price of the house.”
But, “Since this promise has not been reduced to writing, Talley has no adequate solution in the law.” He demands that he continue to live in the house and that the title be transferred to him.
Talley retired from the full-time edition in 2014 and, most recently, taught remotely at Parsons School of Design in Paris.
But he knows the drama well and recently published a bombastic book, “The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir”, which criticized Wintour. He described his relationship with her as “an iceberg”.
When contacted by Page Six on Sunday, Talley’s lawyer, Erik B. Weinick, declined to comment.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis’ lawyer, Edward David, said: “The complaint just tells your [Talley’s] side of the story.
“We have not yet presented our response or counterclaim that will explain the true story.
“Remember that the initial complaint was for eviction at Greenburgh City Court. Malkemus and Yurgaitis are the owners of the house registry and want to sell it.
“Talley is over $ 300,000 behind on rent. He is desperate to stay and they made up his ‘story’. ”