British Designer Antony Price, Celebrated for Creating Looks for David Bowie and Duran Duran, Passes Away at Age 80.
Antony Price, the groundbreaking British fashion designer responsible for a series of unforgettable images associated with musical icons like Bowie and members of Roxy Music, as well as Queen Camilla, has died at the age of 80.
He was celebrated for his architectural shapes and performative fashion, such as the soft-colored suits that became famous from the iconic band Duran Duran's seminal music video for "Rio".
"Remembering him as a 'visionary' and a 'kind, intelligent and razor-witted friend,' the band released a statement online."
This news arrives shortly after he presented his latest collection in London, marking his return to the runway after over three decades. Artist Lily Allen walked in a dress that paid homage to the famous black velvet "so-called 'revenge dress'" made famous by Diana, Princess of Wales.
A Pioneering Career
Hailing from Yorkshire, where he was born in 1945, Price moved to London in the early 1960s to study at the renowned Royal College of Art.
Upon completing his studies, he began designing clothing for men at Stirling Copper and was responsible for the body-hugging, buttoned trousers that rock legend Mick Jagger sported during the band's Gimme Shelter tour in 1969.
He founded his own label in 1979 and staged his first fashion show a year later. The show was launched by creations worn by the famed model Jerry Hall, who was also seen in the marriage dress Price designed for her for her nuptials with Sir Mick Jagger.
Collaborations with Icons
A key creative partner of David Bowie, Price designed the distinctive jacket the artist wore for his "As The World Falls Down" music video in 1986.
His signature ability to fuse elements of men's and women's fashion along with his expert craftsmanship in designing body-hugging looks made him a "one-of-a-kind talent," according to the British Fashion Council.
By the 1990s, he began working on pieces for Camilla, now Queen Consort, such as various looks for her tour of the United States after becoming Duchess.
With a vocation that covered more than five decades, Price held his ultimate fashion presentation in London last month in partnership with the design house 16Arlington.
- Architectural Forms: Central to his design philosophy.
- Dramatic Impact: Shaping the look of rock and pop.
- Genre-Blending Design: Merging menswear with womenswear.
- Clients from Stage to Palace: Including music legends and the future Queen Consort.
The fashion world mourns the loss to a authentic original whose influence on the visual landscape of music remains indelibly etched.