Antony Price, the British fashion designer renowned for shaping the looks of music icons like David Bowie, Roxy Music, and Queen Camilla, has died at the age of 80.
Price became famous for his sculpted silhouettes and theatrical designs, including the pastel suits that Duran Duran famously wore in the “Rio” music video. The band remembered him on social media as a “visionary” and “a kind, intelligent, and razor-witted friend.”
His passing comes shortly after unveiling his latest collection in London, his first in over 30 years, where singer Lily Allen modelled a dress inspired by Princess Diana’s iconic black velvet “revenge dress.”
Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1945, Price moved to London in the early 1960s to study at the Royal College of Art. Shortly after graduating, he began designing menswear at Stirling Cooper, creating the body-hugging, buttoned trousers that Mick Jagger famously wore on The Rolling Stones’ 1969 Gimme Shelter tour.
In 1979, Price launched his own label, with his first fashion show a year later featuring model Jerry Hall, who also wore a Price-designed dress for her wedding to Mick Jagger.
Long a collaborator with David Bowie, Price designed the jacket Bowie wore in the music video for “As The World Falls Down” in 1986. His skill in blending menswear and womenswear, combined with his technical mastery of body-hugging designs, earned him a reputation as a “true original,” according to the British Fashion Council.
During the 1990s, Price also created ensembles for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, including pieces for her US tour after she assumed the title.
After a career spanning more than five decades, Price staged what would be his final show in London last month in collaboration with the fashion brand 16Arlington, leaving behind a legacy of bold, unforgettable designs that bridged fashion and music history.
