There are designers who dress people, and then there are those who shape eras. Antony Price belonged emphatically to the latter. His passing in December 2025 marks the end of one of British fashion’s most intoxicating, theatrical and quietly influential chapters — an era steeped in glamour, precision and fearless self-expression.
Price was never interested in the polite margins of fashion. He operated somewhere far more thrilling: between stage and street, fantasy and engineering, sex and silhouette.
To wear Antony Price was not simply to be dressed — it was to be transformed. As he once declared with characteristic candour, “I’m not a fashion designer. I’m in the theatrical business… I’m an illusionist.” And illusion, in his hands, became power.
Emerging from the Royal College of Art in 1968, Price cut his teeth at Stirling Cooper, where he famously designed Mick Jagger’s body-hugging trousers for the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter tour. From there, the trajectory was clear: he would dress those who understood that image is identity. By the 1970s and 80s, Antony Price had become synonymous with glam rock and New Wave — the invisible architect behind some of music’s most indelible visuals.
Roxy Music, in particular, were his perfect collaborators. Price didn’t just dress the band; he built their world. His name appears on all eight of their albums, and his sculptural, fetish-tinged glamour defined the “Roxy Girl” — a cool, untouchable siren who borrowed from the Golden Age of Hollywood and bent it sharply toward the future. Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Duran Duran — these were not clients so much as co-conspirators.
Nick Rhodes once said, “Nobody did glam better than Antony… all the designers knew he was a genius.” He was right.
The so-called “Antony Price era” fused military precision with flamboyance: corsetry, boning, razor-sharp tailoring, silhouettes engineered to command a room. In the 1990s, his technical mastery earned him the nickname “the frock surgeon” — a designer who understood the body as architecture. Yet there was always wit, danger and sexuality at play. His clothes challenged gender long before it became fashionable to do so, presenting masculinity and femininity as fluid performances rather than fixed rules.
Price’s influence extended far beyond the stage. His futuristic Plaza boutique, launched in 1979, was pure theatre — clothes emerging from walls, marketed unapologetically as “for studs and starlets.” His later clients ranged from Jerry Hall, Grace Jones and Kylie Minogue to Queen Camilla, whom he dressed with the same sculptural authority he once applied to rock gods. That duality — from underground glamour to royal polish — was uniquely his.
And then there were the birds. Peacocks, Yokohama cockerels, feathers that grew to impossible lengths. Price’s fascination with ornithology was not a footnote but a philosophy. Dresses named Chicken, Macaw or Bird’s Wing unfurled across the body like living creatures, engineered to move, ripple and seduce. Collaborating with Philip Treacy in the 1990s, his feathered cantilevered gowns were nothing short of airborne couture.
Behind the legend was a deeply personal story. Dean Aslett — internationally acclaimed stylist, musician and Price’s partner of 35 years — entered his world first as a junior assistant in the late 1980s, later becoming Director of the company when Price reopened his Chelsea showroom in 2000. Together, they navigated fashion’s cycles, recessions and rebirths, dressing Princess Diana, Jerry Hall
Angelica Huston, Queen Camilla, David Bowie,
Bryan Ferry and Duran Duran amongst others.
Dean lamented, ” I’m still trying to process the passing of Antony Price. I worked for Tone as a junior assistant in the late 1980s and later was his Director at his Company. He had a huge impact on my life. Antony was not just a mentor, but a true visionary in his field. His creativity, charm, and insistence on excellence shaped the way I approach my work and my life. His influence extended far beyond the world of fashion—he inspired everyone who had the privilege to know him. I am deeply grateful for the time we shared and the opportunities he gave me. His legacy will live on in the countless people he inspired, taught, and encouraged. I don’t believe Antony feared death. He recently remarked to me “it has become fashionable to die,” on the passing of other people connected to the world of fashion. Rest in peace, Antony. You will be greatly missed.”
For all his achievements, Antony Price remained a designer’s designer — an insider name whose influence far outweighed his public recognition. Yet perhaps that feels fitting. Glamour, after all, works best when it is slightly secret.
I remember first meeting Antony with Dean Aslett during Dean’s music launch, when Julius Just and I were handling the PR. I had the great pleasure of a fascinating conversation with him — sharp, mischievous, endlessly observant. I always loved wearing my Antony Price standout glam pieces; power dressing at its absolute best.
The bespoke black boned – corsetted gown designed by Antony Price that I wore to the Swarovski Fashion Rocks charity event in Monaco remains one of my all-time favorites. My partner Julius Just and I were working on the PR and promotion for the event and the moment I arrived at the afterparty, I was thrilled when fashion icons Jerry Hall and Sharon Osbourne approached me.
Jerry remarked, “I simply love your dress; it looks like something Antony Price would create.” With a smile, I confirmed that it was indeed an Antony Price design. Sharon chimed in, expressing her admiration for the gown and mentioned that she would be reaching out to Antony for a bespoke piece of her own. Our conversation turned to fashion, and we all agreed on the bold, flattering, and unmistakably distinctive aesthetic that Antony Price is known for. It was an exhilarating experience to share those moments with such esteemed figures in the fashion world, all while celebrating the artistry and vision behind Antony’s creations.
To wear his clothes was to feel taller, stronger, more unapologetically yourself. Antony Price was legendary, a visionary, a provocateur, an illusionist who gave generations permission to dress as boldly as they dreamed.
You will be deeply missed, Antony.
Rest in power.
By Kim Grahame
Main photo: Couturier Anthony Price
Photos courtesy of AP , Richard Young and @anthony_price_ fashiondesigner
