"Diana Vreeland Loved Soul Train"

Which high powered Conde Nast editor wrote this? Note: I've never met him (hint, hint), but I like this author much:

"I earned my Masters degree in French literature in the Spring of 1972. My topic was the pivotal role played by all the fabulous, exotic North African women in the world of poet Charles Baudelaire and painter Eugene Delacroix. My thesis was based on the whole sense of importance of Africa to the conception of Orientalism as it influenced art and literature in Nineteenth Century France, a topic in which I have a keen interest. Delacroix's Les Femmes d'Algiers featured prominently, as did Flaubert's Salambo. I truly loved writing my Master's thesis, and although I still yearned for the world of fashion, I moved on to pursuing my doctorate without hesistation."

Can you guess who wrote this?

One more clue:

"You see (Diana) Vreeland loved black culture. She loved the Saturday Morning Dance Show Soul Train; my grandmother cared nothing for it ... she went hog wild over every manifestation of black style. It all began, I think, with Josephine Baker, who truly was one of the most stylish women to ever walk this planet. Mrs. Vreeland loved to tell the story of watching a movie one night in the balcony of a Paris cinema back in the 30s. She had her elbows on the armrests and was intently watching this film, when all of a sudden, one of the armrests moved. She turned to see what was going on and found out that she had been resting her elbow not on the arm of a seat, but on the head of Josephine Baker's pet cheetah, and that both the magnificent cat and its magnificent owner were now getting up to leave. Mrs. Vreeland watched speechlessly as the cheetah padded in a stately fashion up the aisle of the theater, Josephine Baker walking regally behind, wearing a daring, bias-cut Vionnet dress with no underwear on underneath."

If you guessed that this is the wonderful Andre Leon Talley's ALT, then give yourself a pat on the back. Basta!