“I Felt So Powerful, Yet Sexy, Wearing His Clothes”: Jerry Hall Remembers Her Long-Time Friend Antony Price

I had just done a shoot in Jamaica for British Vogue when I met Antony Price—it was the blue swimming cap cover from May 1975 by Norman Parkinson. Antony and Bryan Ferry had seen these photographs, and hired me to be on the cover for Roxy Music’s Siren album. It was Antony’s idea to paint me blue, and to shoot it on the rocks in Anglesey, Wales. I was a mermaid, so I was wearing a tiny rubber swimsuit and a headdress. He made it all—he was so clever; he could make anything out of tin foil and a bit of paint. We had such fun; we laughed so much. I remember him washing this blue paint off me before I rushed off to catch my train.

I became fast friends with Antony—we did so much together over the years. I walked in all his fashion shows. Once Marie Helvin and I came out revving on these motorcycles, and then we pulled off our helmets and walked down the catwalk in these tight leather dresses. His shows were always a spectacle; he entertained everyone.

I felt so powerful, yet sexy wearing his clothes. It was all about the cut and the lines. I think one of my favorites was the red lamé dress that I wore when I spoke at the Oxford Union in the ’90s. All the boys went crazy, and my then husband, Mick Jagger, came with me and watched—it was just such a Jessica Rabbit dress. Antony also did the dress I wore in Batman, this navy dress with ruched sleeves. He made all these great cocktail dresses, and I loved his tailored suits, with these beautiful pencil skirts. I still have some high-waisted classic trousers that I wear today.

Antony was such a good friend to me and my family—he was very loyal, and very kind. He did Mick’s stage costumes for the Rolling Stones tour in America in 1981, which were wonderful, including this big American and British flag cape. When Mick and I got married in Bali, I wore a traditional Balinese outfit, but I asked Antony to make me a western bridal look, too. It was a cream lace dress—so simple, yet beautiful. I later wore it as a bridesmaid to Anjelica Huston’s wedding, before selling it at auction to raise money for the homeless charity Emmaus.

In fact, I ended up selling a lot of my dresses by Antony at that auction, but I did keep a lot. My daughters Lizzy and Georgia May loved him, and they still wear his pieces today. He made me a beautiful evening dress that I wore during all my pregnancies, and then my daughters wore it when they were pregnant. Earlier this month, Georgia wore this black lamé dress that Antony made for me to The Fashion Awards; it fit her perfectly. The last time I saw Antony, he came to our house and was fitting Georgia in some of my old clothes.

Antony Price was a great English designer, who had a deep love of glamour. He was part of the in-crowd in London, working with Duran Duran, David Bowie, Grace Jones—so many people in the rock world, the film world. He was very funny, but mostly people were drawn to him for his talent. He really put his work above everything else. He was there at home sewing, making all his clothes perfectly, and obsessing over everything.