The Fashion Icon Antony Price, Celebrated for Designing for Bowie and Duran Duran, Dies at 80.
The British designer Antony Price, the groundbreaking style architect who crafted many legendary styles worn by musical icons like Bowie and members of Roxy Music, as well as Queen Camilla, has sadly died at 80 years old.
He was celebrated for his architectural shapes and dramatic aesthetics, most notably the pastel suits that became famous from the pop-rock group Duran Duran's seminal music video for "Rio".
"In a tribute, they called him a 'visionary' and a 'kind, intelligent and razor-witted friend,' the band released a statement online."
His passing follows less than a month after he debuted his latest collection in London, his first in more than 30 years. The performer Lily Allen showcased a dress evoking the notorious black velvet "so-called 'revenge dress'" historically worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.
A Lasting Legacy
Hailing from Yorkshire, where he was born in 1945, Price moved to London during the sixties to enroll at the esteemed Royal College of Art.
Shortly after his graduation, he started his work in men's fashion at Stirling Copper and was responsible for the body-hugging, buttoned trousers that Sir Mick Jagger famously wore during The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter tour in the late sixties.
He launched his own brand in 1979 and staged his first fashion show a year later. The show opened with creations worn by model Jerry Hall, who later wore the marriage dress Price created for her for her wedding to Sir Mick Jagger.
Working with Legends
A long-time collaborator of David Bowie, Price was the mind behind the iconic jacket the artist wore for his "As The World Falls Down" music video in 1986.
His trademark skill to blend tailoring for all genders along with his technical proficiency in crafting form-fitting garments made him a "genuine original," according to the British Fashion Council.
During the nineties, he started creating pieces for the then-Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, such as several ensembles for her American tour after becoming Duchess.
With a vocation that covered half a century, Price held his ultimate fashion presentation in London last month in collaboration with the label 16Arlington.
- Defined Shapes: Central to his design philosophy.
- Theatrical Flair: Defining an era of music fashion.
- Gender-Fluid Fashion: Blurring lines between clothing for men and women.
- A Client List from Rock to Royalty: Including music legends and the future Queen Consort.
Design circles laments the passing to a genuine innovator whose influence on fashion and music remains profoundly felt.
