24/12/2025

LYFE WEDNESDAY | DEC 24, 2025

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Fashion world pays tribute to legendary Antony Price

T HE fashion world paid tribute to British designer Antony Price, who crafted sharp, stylish looks for pop legends such as Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Duran Duran, after he died aged 80. Fashion house 16Arlington, which collaborated on Price’s final show, said he was “a singular creative force and one of the most influential British designers of his generation”. Price died on Dec 16, only a few weeks after the show, in which singer Lily Allen made a splash wearing a black velvet dress said to resemble a famed look worn by Princess Diana. The November show was his first in more than three decades, and was carried out in collaboration with 16Arlington creative director Marco Capaldo. 16Arlington said the collection of 16 looks was “a body of work that now carries special significance as his final project”. Price was known for his bold designs, which he created for UK pop stars in the 1970s and 80s, including Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music and heartthrobs Duran Duran. o Late designer has dressed Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Queen Camilla

“He was a visionary fashion designer, with extraordinary technical skills. Nobody did glam better than Antony,” Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes said in an Instagram message. Born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1945, Price studied at Bradford School of Art and then the Royal College of Art’s Fashion School, graduating in 1968. A year later he designed a pair of figure hugging trousers for Jagger for the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” tour in 1969. “Often called the ‘Rock Couturier,’ Price’s work fused his wizard technical skills with an unparalleled flair for showmanship to create exceptional clothes,” fashion journalist Alex Fury wrote on Instagram. Criminally overlooked talent From the sharp suits worn by Ferry and Roxy Music to the pastel-coloured silk ensembles donned by Duran Duran in their Rio video, Price defined the pop looks of the era. Price was “a pivotal figure in the fusion of fashion and music”, said magazine Industry.fashion . He “revolutionised fashion by integrating style into music, creating iconic visuals for bands”, it added. 10 Magazine said in their tribute that Price “was a criminally overlooked talent, whose impact on fashion, taste and popular culture far outweighed his name recognition”. Price set up his eponymous label in 1979

Zara using AI to help create pics ZARA has become the latest fast-fashion retailer to use AI to help create new images of real models in different outfits, speeding up the production process as part of an industry shift that could have a major impact on fashion photography. Zara’s AI experimentation follows Swedish rival H&M, which earlier this year said it had created AI clones of models to use in marketing. European online fashion retailer Zalando is also using AI to create imagery faster. “We are using artificial intelligence only to complement our existing processes. We work collaboratively with our valued models – agreeing any aspect on a mutual basis – and compensate in line with industry best practice,”a spokesperson for Zara owner Inditex said in a statement. Zara’s move was first reported by London business-focused newspaper CityAM, which cited an unnamed model saying Zara asked for approval to edit images of them with AI to show different items, and that they were paid the same amount as if they had travelled for another photo shoot. H&M and Zalando, such as Inditex, have said AI would complement their creative teams’processes and help them be more efficient rather than replacing them, downplaying the risk to photographers and production teams who work on fashion shoots. Inditex chair Marta Ortega, daughter of the founder Amancio Ortega, has spoken in interviews about her passion for fashion photography. Since 2021 her MOP (Marta Ortega Perez) Foundation gallery in A Coruna, the town in northern Spain where Zara was founded, has hosted exhibitions showcasing the work of major photographers. It is currently showing Annie Leibovitz’s fashion photography, and previous exhibitions have spotlighted photography greats Steven Meisel – with whom Zara has worked extensively – and Helmut Newton. Ortega has tried to move Zara upmarket, cutting store numbers to focus on fewer, bigger flagships with a more spacious, sophisticated feel. Isabelle Doran, CEO of the Association of Photographers in London, said the use of AI would reduce the number of times photographers, models and production teams are commissioned, impacting a whole ecosystem of established professionals as well as early-career fashion photographers trying to get a foothold in the industry. – Reuters Zara’s logo is displayed on a window of one of its stores. – REUTERSPIC

Price. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @ANTONY_PRICE_FASHIONDESIGNER

Bowie was among those outfitted by Price. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @DAVIDBOWIE and staged his first fashion show in 1980, with Jerry Hall modelling some of his creations. He also designed the American model and actress’ wedding dress for her marriage to Jagger. More recently, Price became the go-to designer of Queen Camilla, according to UK media. After his November show, British Vogue wrote Price was “the image shaper who helped rock stars look like rock stars in the 1970s”. – AFP

‘16 Looks’ is Price’s final project. – PICS FROM INSTAGRAM @16ARLINGTON

Price is revered for his wide-ranging impact on fashion and pop culture.

French court rejects Shein suspension as ‘disproportionate’, govt vows to appeal

A French court rejected the state’s request to suspend Shein’s site in France as “disproportionate” after the Asian e-commerce giant removed illicit products sold on its platform. The French government said it would appeal the ruling. French authorities had requested the ultra-fast-fashion giant’s site be blocked for three months after weapons, banned medications and childlike sex dolls were found on the platform. The authorities asked the platform only be reopened if it applied strict new measures to prevent a repeat of the offences.

marketplace were identified, in these proceedings, as manifestly illegal and harmful, while the ‘fr.Shein.com’ platform offers several hundred thousand items for sale,” said the court ruling. Despite the court’s decision, Shein’s marketplace is not expected to fully reopen right away, but gradually, its lawyers said. The company has acknowledged difficulties in implementing an effective age filter for pornographic products. As a result, the adults-only sexual category would remain closed for the time being, as is the case worldwide since the uproar over the

The court acknowledged a “serious harm to public order”, but found their sale of the items in question had been “sporadic” and noted that Shein had removed the products. The court nevertheless issued an “injunction” to Shein not to resume selling “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content, without implementing age-verification measures”. The state’s request that Shein “at a minimum” maintain the suspension of its marketplace, which hosts products sold by third-party vendors, was not granted. “Only certain products on the Paris judicial

appeal the court decision. “Convinced of the systemic risk of the model linked to Shein, and at the request of the prime minister, the government will appeal this decision in the coming days,” said the statement. A number of other e-commerce giants have also faced pressure on the European stage in recent months. Brussels in November requested formal information from Shein, which could lead to probes and even fines. But that does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment. – AFP

Shein’s website is seen here on a laptop screen. – AFPPIC

sale of childlike sex dolls on the platform broke out in France in November. In a statement, the French government said that it would