Antony Price

Antony Price is one of the United Kingdom's most recognised fashion designers.

He was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1945.

Antony Price is famous for his intrinsic connections to the music world.

He has collaborated with a number of performers, including David Bowie, Steve Strange and Duran Duran, but is best known for his close working relationship with Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, whose respective 'looks' were defined by Price's designs.

He has been credited as the chief illusionist of what he dubbed "the Roxy Machine" and contributed to all eight album covers – something which can be boasted by no-one besides Bryan Ferry himself.

Price grew up in the Hamlet of Selside in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. He was educated at Eshton Hall School for Boys in Gargrave, Yorkshire. At the age of 16, he gained entrance to the Bradford College of Art (following fellow student David Hockney's painterly footsteps but instead into the world of Fashion) in September 1961, completing a one year General Art and Design course, followed by specialising for three years in Womenswear Fashion, where he developed his trademark skill in pattern cutting and architectual garment construction in the vein of his idols, Givenchy and Balenciaga, under the stewardship of his tutor, Mrs Betts.

In 1965 at the age of 20, he gained entrance to the Royal College of Art's Fashion School in London under the guidance of Janie Ironside where he completed a 3 year course - 2 years in Womenswear Fashion,the final year and degree show in Menswear Fashion, DES R.C.A.

In 1968 he won the Three M's Bursary Award with a Menswear Fashion outfit and subsequently joined the fledgling Sterling Cooper fashion company alongside the Womenswear designer, Jane Whiteside. Together they opened the famous Sterling Cooper shop (designed by Price and Whiteside) in London's Wigmore Street which was frequented by the Rockn'Roll faternity of the day i.e. Rolling Stones, Traffic, Cream and Pink Floyd etc - who were particular amoured with Price's "Bridge Crutch Trousers" that became a Rock business fashion necessity - setting Price on his journey in Glamour and Rockn'Roll. (The Rolling Stones were his earliest customers, with Jagger wearing the 'Side Button Trousers' on the infamous ‘Gimme Shelter’ tour). After Whiteside's departure, Price designed iconic Womenswear pieces, including the much copied 'Spiral Skirts' and 'Block Sleeve Heads'.

In 1971, Price moved from Sterling Cooper to Che Guevara for two years (owned by Dave Shimeld) as the lead designer to launch it's own range of Womenswear. Price and Whiteside also designed Che Guevara's large and exciting flag ship store in High Street Kensington following the success of the initial store. This created a lot of interest because of the store's fashionable 1930's art deco appeal.

At this time Price started his collaboration with the American fashion photographer Karl Stoecker and created photographs for Vogue.

In 1972, Price joined the Plaza Clothing Company which specialised in the mass production of garments in Portugal. He spent 5 years working in Portuguese factories concentrating on developing ranges of stretch garments that sold in extremely large quantities to all major fashion outlets and retailers in the United Kingdom and abroad.

From this point Price's artistic relationship with the singer Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music was on-going through out the Seventies producing some of the periods most classic and iconic visual images in both video and album cover form to promote the band and Bryan Ferry's solo projects along with the photographer Karl Stoecker and models Amanda Lear, Kari-Ann Muller (Jagger), Marilyn Cole and Jerry Hall. At the same time, Stoeker, Price and Gala Mitchell collaborated with Lou Reed for the Transformer back cover artwork.

In 1978, the success of the Plaza Clothing Company enabled Price to open a third shop on the King's Road in Chelsea, London, which became the centre for Rockn'Roll Glamour for the stars and also involved major interest from various magazines; Vogue, Tatler and Harpers & Queen. The blue glass exterior of the shop was hailed in high esteem by retail architects and the media as it had a revolutionary method of visual merchandising, i.e. the clothes were displayed as art within the store. The window was a huge television/cinema screen displaying controversial fashion images of the clothes sold within.

In 1979, Price and his business partner Richard Cunninghmam (Head of Sales at Plaza) began a 15 year business relationship and took over the Plaza shop launching his own label, Antony Price.

In March 1980, Antony Price produced his first major show for London Fashion Week A/W 1980 collections at the Pillar Hall, Olympia, London.

This was filmed by John Maybury and featured the models Jerry Hall and Marie Helvin (as vampish icons of sexual glamour - he had honed this look whilst working with Kari-Anne, Amanda Lear and Gala Mitchell in the early 1970s). The Menswear section of the show featured a young Nick Kamen.

His next major show was at The Camden Palace in March 1983 (which was a pay to see all ticket show) and hosted by his Fashion celebrity friend, the King of the New Romantics, Steve Strange (who created and run The Camden Palace after the the Blitz). The Camden Palace Extravangaza in 1983 was the first Fashion show to be televised and went out at peak viewing time on a Saturday evening on ITV. Price had collaborated with Steve Strange and Helmut Newton on 'The Anvil' in 1982.

During this time Price collabrated with the British band Duran Duran and their style guru Nick Rhodes for the Rio video and album and also successfully completed a massive world tour with the Rolling Stones.

In March 1984 another Extravaganza Fashion Show occured at the Fashionable London Night Spot, The Hippodrome, which featured his trademark shoulders - which would influence the rest of the Eighties.

Other shows followed in 1985 when Price collaborated with Bob Geldoff for Fashion Aid at the Royal Albert Hall which included his show-stopping dress and concept for Jerry Hall.

During this period of the Mid-Eighties, Price continued with his wholesale Fashion business and special rock and film star commissions too numerous to mention - which included personalities and Royalty and included collaborations with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Tina Turner and David Bowie and also another world tour with the Rolling Stones in 1984.

In 1985, Price designed another iconic shop and interior for his South Molton Street flag ship store which was his forth store design.

In the mid-Eighties Price also collaborated with his friend Simon Foster (the Barbados Couturier) on Fashion Shows for Royalty and Rock Royalty on the islands of Mustique and Barbados which continued into the Nineties.

In 1988 and 1989, with a roster of famous clients dressed over a long career, Price rejoined the London Fashion Week circuit with two glamorous shows (A/W 1988 at The Fashion Theatre, Olympia and A/W 1989 at Chelsea Waterfront) which won him the Glamour Designer of the Year Award in 1989 which was featured and profiled by Sarah Mower in British Vogue in March 1990.

The 1988 show included the first outing of Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Lebon and Talisa Soto and the garments were photographed on Emma Samms and was featured in British Vogue. The shows continued from his Hotelier in the Oval, London. His 1990 S/S show featured iconic lace dresses that were worn by many famous sport stars, film stars and rock stars.

In 1990, Price produced work for a Guiness Television Advertisement campaign starring Gina Bellman.

Price has worked on Television Advertisement campaigns for Cadburys, Smirnoff Vodka, Red Stripe, Salem Cigarettes and others for example.

In 1992, Price designed a range for a mass production evening wear company that was photographed on Tatjana Patitz by John Swannell.

In the same year, Price costumed Annie Lennox in Mercuy Silver and Black for the Freddy Mercury Memorial Concert for the perfomance of Under Pressure with David Bowie and in the same year also costumed Bananarama.

Between 1994-1998, Price operated his Coturiere Hotelier business based in Chelsea's Kings Road, London, for his private client base with his new business Natalie Dwek.

In December 1995, Price did a big show in Barbados with his long-time friend, Simon Foster for their unique client base.

Price collaborated with milliner Philip Treacy on clothing for his couture shows at London Fashion Week, New York and Paris from 1995 - 1997 and continued to collaborate on subsequent Philip Treacy shows in London and Paris which utilised Price's "Car Bonnet Moulded Dresses".

During this period Antony Price was associated by the Press with the vacancy at Versace after the death of Gianni Versace in 1997.

Subsequently Price moved his Coturiere business to a new shop in Chelsea, London with his new business partner Dean Aslett in 1999.

In 2000, Antony Price created evening gowns, constructed of carpet, hair and make up to feature in the advertising campaigns of British carpet manufacturer Brintons photographed by Patrick Litchfield.

He also created clothing for Glenalmond Tweeds.

He was nominated for the British Fashion Council's 'Red Carpet Designer' award at the 2006 British Fashion Awards.

In December 2006, Price was photographed by David Bailey for British Vogue.

Through out the noughties Price continued his collaborations with Bryan Ferry and Duran Duran for their world tours.

Price produced menswear outfits for the boy band JLS on ITV's X Factor and also created 13 Joseph Dream Coats for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Reality Television Show "Any Dream Will Do!" for the BBC in 2007.

In 2008 Price collaborated with Philip Green's Arcadia Empire for the High Street Store Topman to produce a collection of Menswear for the range called Priceless.

The clothes were aimed at their 15-21 year old trend setting customer. The clothes sold extremely well on how they looked for that market.

Price did a further three collections for Topman for S/S 2009, A/W 2009 and A/W 2010.

His Topman collection and Price was featured in a Photographic project for Nick Knight's www.showstudio.com.

In 2010 and 2011, Price designed dresses for BBC Presenter Suzi Perry for the television coverage of Royal Ascot.

Price also designed the Portuguese Man of War dress for the Cadbury's Flake television advert directed by Baillie Walsh.

In 2011, Antony Price was interviewed for a television programme on Men's tailoring "The Perfect Suit" on Channel 4.

In 2011, Price continued his association with Duran Duran by designing their stage outfits for their acclaimed "All You Need is Now" world tour.

Antony Price has remained unfinanced through out his entire career trying to compete against his French and Italian counterparts in the glamarous couture end of the Fashion industry.

It has been a notoriously difficult journey.

But Price fights on.

By his own admission, "It has not been easy."

Excerpts from an interview with Gavin Aslett. April 2012.