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It’s yet another bitter high-end fashion fight.
Vogue legend Andre Leon Talley is dragged out of his $ 1 million New York home by former CEO Manolo Blahnik USA, who claims the former editor has a rent of $ 500,000.
Talley fell out wildly with his old close friend, high-powered shoe executive George Malkemus – who developed Manolo Blahnik in the US and recently partnered with Sarah Jessica Parker on his SJP collection.
Malkemus has now taken legal action against Talley in an attempt to get him out of the lavish estate in White Plains.
Talley, 72, has long insisted that the historic 11-room colonial house, with lavish gardens at 75 Worthington Road, was his, telling the New York Times in 2018: ‘This is my sanctuary.’
But new court documents seen by Page Six claim 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 couple have known Talley for almost 40 years. Yet on November 12, 2020, Malkemus, “commenced summary non-payment proceedings in White Plains City Court … seeking to evict Talley from the house and for a pecuniary judgment against Talley in the amount of 515,872. , $ 97 representing suspected arrears ”, new state of court documents.
Talley – who in 1988 was appointed by Anna Wintour to be the Creative Director of Vogue, the first African-American person to hold the post – responded by filing her own lawsuit against Malkemus and Yurgaitis in Westchester Supreme Court on January 25. 2021.
He claims the couple, who were “longtime trusted friends”, agreed to buy the house for him and transfer the title once he repaid them the purchase price of $ 1,020,000. .
While Malkemus and Yurgaitis allege Talley is behind on rent, the former Vogue editor’s case alleges, “This action arises out of the defendants’ improper attempt to evict Talley from a house … which is at rightly his own, so they can sell the property. “
He claims he has lived at the house since and has reimbursed 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 showcases many of Blahnik’s items in the spotlight, including a sketch of a shoe by the famous designer himself.
But it is alleged that Malkemus and Yurgaitis have now “sought to invoke a never-functioning ‘lease” agreement in order to enrich themselves by forcing Talley out of the house, seeking an additional $ 515,872.97 from Talley in as alleged “arrears” and selling the house only for their own benefit.
The newspapers state that, “Over time, as friends, Talley and Malkemus helped each other not only in professional affairs, but also in personal affairs… as he grew up in the fashion world and that his situation changed frequently and the demands of his time increased. . “
The newspapers allege that in 1999 Talley needed to buy a new car, but was unable to do so due to “credit problems”. Malkemus reportedly offered to buy the car on his behalf using $ 45,000 in funds provided by Talley.
Then in 2004, Talley rented 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 couldn’t get traditional funding,” the lawsuit says.
Instead, Talley’s lawsuit alleges that he, Malkemus and Yurgaitis entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” and that Talley would provide a down payment of $ 120,000 and that Malkemus and Yurgaitis “would use their own down payment and their own funds to purchase the house for the benefit of Talley ”.
“The parties have agreed that Talley will exclusively own, occupy and maintain the house. It was agreed and still understood that Talley, over time, would “pay” the balance of the purchase price paid by the defendants, at which point the title would then formally transfer to Talley, “said the former editor.
“In the meantime, the defendants would hold title to the beneficial ownership of Talley.”
But “Talley has made episodic payments over time dictated by his income streams,” totaling approximately $ 1,075,558 as of Jan. 1, 2020.
The documents detail a very unusual arrangement whereby “although Talley resided in the house from 2004 to today, he made episodic payments to defendants which he viewed as stock 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 asked to do so.
Talley also alleges in the lawsuit that he personally spent over $ 200,000 to maintain the house, including replacing the roof and announcing the boiler had windows and shutters replaced, spending at least $ 200,000 in improvements.
But, “Despite this, around March 2020, the defendants began to discuss with Talley their interest in selling the house solely for their own financial gain.
“They started asking her to make additional payments or to leave the house so that it could be sold to a third party.”
Talley claims in his file that this discussion took place just before a bankruptcy petition against Manolo Blahnik USA.
In return for his decades of friendship and trust, on November 12, 2020, Malkemus commenced summary non-payment proceedings in White Plains court … seeking to evict Talley from the home and for a pecuniary judgment against Talley d ‘ an amount of $ 515,872. , 97 representing suspected arrears. “
“Since 2004, Talley has always operated with the understanding that the house was his, and that the arrangement could be formalized upon reimbursement of the purchase price of the house.
But, “because this promise did not come down to writing, Talley has no adequate legal recourse.” He asks that he be allowed to continue living in the house and that the title be transferred to him.
Talley retired from full-time editing in 2014 and recently taught at a distance at Parsons School of Design in Paris.
But he’s no stranger to drama and recently published a bombshell book, “The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir,” which criticized Wintour. He described his relationship with her as “in an iceberg”.
When reached by Page Six on Sunday, Talley’s attorney, Erik B. Weinick, declined to comment.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis’ attorney, Edward David, said: “The complaint only says [Talley’s] side of the story.
“We have not yet filed our response or counterclaim that will explain the real story.
“Remember, the original complaint was about eviction in Greenburgh City Court. Malkemus and Yurgaitis are the record owners of the house and want to sell it.
“Talley is over $ 300,000 in late rent. He desperately needs to stay and they’ve concocted their “story”.
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