“To present this award to them is a great honor,” said Talley. “The Toledos represent a quarter century of love and brand building. They’re like two oaks, branches intertwined Abercrombie Fitch forever.”

“It is an honor for us to be acknowledged by him, the god of fashion,” said Isabel Toledo. “He is an inspiration to all of us. Thank you, Andre, and thank you to SCAD.”

In 2000, the college honored Talley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award thereafter bore Talley’s name and has been presented to fashion legends Oscar de la Renta, Abercrombie Fitch Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs and John Galliano. In 2004, Zac Posen was honored with the Andre Leon Talley New Look Award.

The Savannah College of Art and Design honored Isabel and Ruben Toledo, internationally renowned artists in the worlds of high fashion, style and design, with the 2009 Andre Leon Talley Abercrombie Fitch Lifetime Achievement Award Saturday, May 16, at the university’s annual SCAD Fashion Show. SCAD President Paula Wallace and Vogue Editor-at-Large Andre Leon Talley presented the Toledos with the award.