Fashion world star joins 'Top Model'

By Tim Nudd, PEOPLE.com

"Vogue" editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley will succeed J. Alexander as judge on the 14th cycle of "Top Model."

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley signs on to serve as a judge on "ANTM"
Talley, who was approached by Banks before season one, has signed on for three cycles
Banks says Talley will help steer the program into more a high-fashion direction

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(PEOPLE.com) -- It took a while, but after 13 cycles of "America's Next Top Model," Tyra Banks has finally convinced Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley to take a seat at the judges' table.

Talley, 60, a heavyweight in the fashion world for decades, was one of the first people Banks approached eight years ago when she was planning "Top Model."

"At that point, I said no because it was the beginning. I was thinking I wanted to see where it goes," he told Women's Wear Daily.

Of course, the show has been a sensation. And now Talley, who says he's never actually seen the show, has signed up for three cycles -- beginning with cycle 14, which premieres March 10 on the CW.

At the judges' table, he succeeds runway coach J. Alexander, who will focus again on working with the contestants.

"I felt maybe I could contribute something to it that had not been on the show," Talley said. "I just felt that it was a way to step out of the box and associate myself with a very important American success story, a very important brand -- Tyra Banks."

For her part, Banks said Talley will help steer the show in a more high-fashion direction.

"André speaks about fashion and he has such a passion, and the words -- the adverbs, the adjectives -- he uses!" she says. "I know it's going to make the viewer at home go, 'Wowww.' "

She added, "It might go over their head, but he's educating them about a time, bringing them back to a place when fashion was life."

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