Antony Price, the colorful designer who created statement looks for the members of Roxy Music and Duran Duran, and who even dressed Queen Camilla, died Wednesday, aged 80.
In this article, taken from the pages of the former men’s fashion newspaper Daily News Record (DNR), a sister publication of Women’s Wear Daily, on March 29, 1984, Richard Buckley, European editor of DNR at the time, documented Antony Price’s Fashion Extravaganza show at the London Hippodrome on March 16.
Trend spotting at the London shows: The Vintage American gabardine coat — dressed up with a jacket and tie or layered over sweats — is making its presence felt in fashion circles.
Body Map’s jampacked show began with live entertainment, which is obviously a necessary ingredient for a London runway show. A chanteuse sang a musical number devoted to the collection’s theme, “Cat in the Hat Takes a Tumble With a Techno Fish.”
Seen at the show were Stefano Ottina of Punch, Andrea Sargeant of Madonna Uomo, and accessories designer Robert Rose, who sported a ponytail hairpiece, which he stated had been welded on with a blowtorch and would remain for six months.
The people who attended designer Antony Price’s showing of his fall collection on Friday evening were more interesting than anything that was shown on the stage.
The presentation, held in the Hippodrome, one of London’s newest nightspots, brought out pop personalities such as Malcolm McLaren (who declined to comment on his relationship with designer Vivienne Westwood and Worlds End) and trendsetter Steve Strange, who was dressed head-to-toe in Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Models on the runway in Antony Price at London’s “fashion extravaganza” held at the Hippodrome Nightclub, 1984.
Michel Maurou
Representing the “New Androgyny” was “Marilyn,” accessorized with three glittering rosaries worn over his black turtleneck sweater, tartan kilt, and tartan trousers.
Also present were Bernie Ozer, Terry Melville, and Barbara Weiser, who remarked about the show, “It looks like I gathered all my markdowns together and gave a show.”
A fight nearly broke out when one of the very scantily clad cocktail waitresses threatened to deck a photographer if he took one more picture of her.
One fashion trend picked up in the crowd was the surplus of nautical looks on men. On the one hand were raunchy “Querelle” types who looked more like dock workers and wore anything but navy blue and white, and on the other were the Rear Admirals dressed in white officers’ jackets and hats.
Later that evening, at Le Caprice, photographer David Bailey’s restaurant, British fashion agent Robert Forrest proclaimed, “It’s the year of the girl,” and a pause — “The real girl” — another pause — “Not Girl George.”
He pointed out the current popularity in London of female vocalists such as the Exotic Sade, the German Nena, Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics, and Carmel (whose album “The Drum is Everything” is shooting up the charts).
— Richard Buckley
