Antony Price returns to the runway with 16Arlington
Last night designers Marco Capaldo of 16Arlington and Anthony Price joined forces on a collaboration of glamour, magic and enchantment modelled by London’s most famous faces.
On a cold November night in East London, 36 years after staging his last fashion show, Antony Price returned to the runway. “You know, I’m nearly 80 years old. I need to leave my [history] with somebody who can do something with it, and this team of people can do that,” the legendary London designer said after the show on Monday evening. He was referring to Marco Capaldo of 16Arlington, who first had the idea of creating a collection with Price — a fashion hero of his — after meeting him seven years ago. “I’ve always been an amazing fan of Antony’s work. We met at a party and he said, ‘We need more sex and glamour in London. You guys are doing that, so keep it up,’” Capaldo recalled.
KAI ISAIAH-JAMAL, LOOK 13. COURTESY OF 16ARLINGTON.
LILA MOSS, LOOK 14. COURTESY OF 16ARLINGTON.
I’ve always been an amazing fan of Antony Price’s work. We met at a party and he said, ‘We need more sex and glamour in London. You guys are doing that, so keep it up
MARCO CAPALDO
Mirroring that brief in Price’s own legacy, the collaboration took that vision to a different level. Presented in 16Arlington’s studios on Gorsuch Place, the sixteen looks — eleven months in the making — were modeled on an ensemble cast that included Lily Allen, Lila Moss, Lara Stone, Adwoa and Kesewa Aboah, Edie Campbell, Jean Campbell, Paloma Elsesser, Kai Isaiah Jamal, and Kit Butler. Posing up a storm in Capaldo’s takes on Price’s sculpted, contoured, spiraling silhouettes, they echoed the women who made his designs famous five decades ago: Jerry Hall, Amanda Lear, Kari-Ann Müller, Marie Helvin, Yasmin Le Bon. The latter, of course, was married to Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran — for whom Price created costumes alongside Roxy Music and David Bowie. Nick Rhodes attended the show.
Since founding 16Arlington in 2017, Marco Capaldo has become a go-to purveyor of party dresses for a new generation of glamourpusses in London. “I’ve seen a lot of their things for the last seven years, on and off,” Price said. “I have been out of the country for some time, but upon coming back, I got a phone call from Marco saying, ‘I think we should do something.’ We got to talking about it, and he said, ‘I’d like to work on a few things you did and elaborate on them.’ He picked the things he liked and then he took over and did the other half. So, it was a half-and-half thing all the way through. It was very enjoyable to work with young and enthusiastic people. There are few of us left in this business in London. And it’s been great for me.”
ADWOA ABOAH, LOOK 16. COURTESY OF 16ARLINGTON.
EDIE CAMPBELL, LOOK 15. COURTESY OF 16ARLINGTON.
It was very enjoyable to work with young and enthusiastic people [at 16Arlington]. There are few of us left in this business in London. And it’s been great for me
ANTHONY PRICE
While Price never gained the mainstream fame of other British designers, he is known as one of the most gifted and pop-culturally impactful talents of his generation. Born in Leeds in 1945, he trained at Bradford College of Art and the Royal College of Art, where he developed his distinctly glamorous language of cutting — expressed in engineered silhouettes we might call fierce and ferocious in a present-day tongue. After graduating, he refined his sensual tailoring techniques at the London store Ossie Clark’s Quorum before launching his own label, Antony Price, in the 1970s. Coinciding with the Glam Rock waves of the time, he became known for his couture-level construction and high-gloss drama.
Today, his legacy is inseparable from his role in shaping the imagery of the stars he dressed. Most notably, his album covers for Roxy Music have gone down in pop-cultural history as some of the most defining of their era. The same spirit was palpable in the 16Arlington collection, which showcased Price’s dramatic “Dracula collars,” “Devil Horn bodices,” and twisted plissé trousers. There were siren dresses with fishtail trains, leather sweetheart cocktail numbers, and silhouettes covered entirely in plume. If it was a passing of the torch, it signaled a more couture-driven future for Capaldo. “He’s gotten into the feel of it, and I’ve gone along with it, because I know he’s much more in touch with the modern market than I am. And also, he does want to do couture… made-to-order. And I’m all about that,” Price said.
As for Capaldo: “It’s been the most incredible experience and privilege to work with Antony. Above everything, just to develop a friendship. We speak every day for hours,” he said. “It’s a lot more than just fashion.”
CREATIVE DIRECTION MARCO CAPALDO
Co-Creative Direction Antony Price
Styling Vanessa Reid
Art Direction Emmanuel O’Brien
Casting Rosie Vogel
Hair Anthony Turner
Make-up Lynsey Alexander
Nails Ama Quashie
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