Antony Price, the visionary British designer who shaped the look of David Bowie and Duran Duran, has died at the age of 80. He passed away on 16 December 2025, just weeks after a widely praised return to the catwalk in London
Born in Yorkshire in 1945, Price studied at Bradford School of Art before completing a fashion course at London’s Royal College of Art in the mid‑1960s. He first made his mark at Stirling Cooper in 1968, designing sharply cut menswear, including tight, buttoned trousers later worn by Mick Jagger on The Rolling Stones’ 1969 Gimme Shelter tour. In 1979 he launched his own label, building a reputation for sculpted eveningwear that fused old Hollywood glamour with details of fetish.
Price became a go‑to image maker for musicians, collaborating with David Bowie, Roxy Music, Lou Reed and Duran Duran over several decades. He designed the jacket worn by Bowie in the 1986 video for ‘As the World Falls Down’, bringing his precise tailoring to the singer’s onscreen persona. For Duran Duran, he conceived the pastel silk suits seen in the 1982 ‘Rio’ video, looks that helped solidify the band’s sleek, escapist vision of 1980s pop.
Across the 1970s and early 1980s, Price crafted the visual world of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, styling the band on eight album sleeves. His tightly corseted gowns and broad‑shouldered suits became shorthand for sophisticated, hyper‑sexual glamour that anticipated the power‑dressing of the decade to come.
From the 1990s, Price also dressed Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall and now Queen Camilla, creating outfits for high‑profile engagements, including a tour of the United States. Despite a five‑decade career, he staged only a handful of runway shows.
Last month, he returned to the spotlight with a London show in collaboration with fashion label 16Arlington, where Lily Allen modelled a black velvet “revenge dress” inspired by Princess Diana and cut by Price.
News of his death prompted tributes from across fashion and music, with Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes remembering Price on his Instagram. “He was a visionary fashion designer, with extraordinary technical skills. Nobody did glam better than Antony… Antony was a loyal, kind, intelligent and razor-witted, friend. I’ll miss you Tone”.
The Design Museum and other institutions praised his role in shaping late‑20th‑century pop imagery, noting that his influence far outstripped his public profile. Fans and collaborators alike celebrated a designer whose dramatic, sculpted clothes permanently altered the look of rock and pop.
Featured Image Credits: Robert Sullivan, Mary Evans
