New Brunswick·NewArt historian and curator John Leroux is working on a book, exhibit and documentary about self-taught hair and makeup artist-to-the-stars Antony Clavet, who hailed from a small town in northwestern New Brunswick.New multimedia project to illuminate Antony Clavet’s enduring pop cultural influenceJennifer Sweet · CBC News · Posted: Sep 29, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoA magazine spread of actor Jennifer Jason Leigh with hair and makeup by Antony Clavet, from his personal archives. (Submitted by John Leroux)A New Brunswick hair and makeup artist whose canvases were the style icons of the 1970s and 1980s is being celebrated in a new multimedia project. Facing the Future: The Art and Life of Antony Clavet will include a book published by Goose Lane Editions, a feature-length documentary produced by Cazador Films, and one of the biggest art shows the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton has seen in a generation.”I think he’s one of the most important creatives we’ve ever had here, and very few people know about him,” said John Leroux, art historian, curator and director of the Marion McCain Institute for Atlantic Canadian Art.”I haven’t seen any to the level of Antony Clavet. And I’m so excited [by] what this is going to be.”A shot of David Bowie and Antony Clavet, right, taken in about 1983, from Clavet’s personal archives. (Submitted by John Leroux)A lot has to be done before the launch in 2028, but Leroux said he’s finding a treasure trove of material to work with. For example, photos and documents made available by Clavet’s family reveal his close friendship and long-term collaboration with pop icon David Bowie.”They used to write cards back and forth.… They’d vacation together and spent New Year’s in Japan together in 1978. … They were very, very close friends and trusted each other.… He was very loyal to Antony.”Clavet did hair and makeup for all of Bowie’s album covers (notably for Lodger), his music videos for Heroes and Let’s Dance, and some of his films.John Leroux says he’s enthusiastic about showcasing the world-class art of Antony Clavet to his home province. The makeup and hair artist was from Saint-Francois, in Madawaska County. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)Earlier this month, Leroux got to see some of the conceptual drawings, notes, photos and outfits in Bowie’s archives, unveiled at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.In the last couple of years, he’s also interviewed some of the other celebrities Antony worked with — Susan Sarandon, Patti Lupone and Queen Noor of Jordan, to name a few. He was at the highest echelon of human creativity.— John Leroux, art historian and curator”They all said, without exception, ‘We loved him. He was a genius. And he was one of the greatest artists we’ve ever met,'” Leroux said.”He was at the highest echelon of human creativity.”Hair and makeup are often discounted as art forms, said Leroux, but they can change the way we see ourselves. Clavet “helped create the look of the ’80s,” he said, describing it as characterized by bright, colourful makeup, extended eye effects and asymmetrically styled hair.Clavet’s archives include hundreds of polaroids, said Leroux, including this one from 1983, of him doing Bowie’s makeup. (Submitted by John Leroux)He worked with the top models and entertainers of his day, a smattering of whom include: Cheryl Tiegs Christie Brinkley Jerry Hall Nastassja Kinski Sophia Loren Richard Gere Catherine Deneuve Diane Lane Goldie Hawn Ryuichi Sakamoto Tom Cruise Isabella Rossellini The Rolling Stones Sting Brian Ferry Paul Anka Elton John Paul McCartney Gloria Gaynor Top photographers captured his otherwise-ephemeral creations, among them Richard Avedon, Clive Arrowsmith, Annie Leibowitz, Helmut Newton, Cecil Beaton, Greg Gorman, Robert Mapplethorpe, Albert Watson and Irving Penn.The TV show Miami Vice and films Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Hunger, 9½ Weeks, Top Gun, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence and The Cotton Club all bore Clavet’s artistic touch.Grew up in Saint-François and Saint-BasileIt’s a stunning resumé for a Brayon originally from Saint-François, a rural community in the New Brunswick panhandle between Quebec and Maine best known for producing chicken.Clavet was the eldest of six children, said Leroux, and went by Erneste during his childhood, when the family mainly lived in Saint-Basile, now part of Edmundston.A portrait of Antony Clavet from about 1980, from his personal archives. According to John Leroux, the famous photographers who were hired to shoot the celebrities Clavet styled often turned their lenses on him, too. (Submitted by John Leroux)Their father had an engineering job at the local hospital and their mother worked as a homemaker, said his sister Brigitte Clavette, an acclaimed metalsmith and New Brunswick College of Craft and Design instructor. (She added -te to her family name, while her brother kept the original spelling but adopted Antony as his professional name, she explained.)Clavet was very aware he was gay, Leroux said, and at the age of 16 he moved to Montreal, where he got his start doing makeup for drag performers and strippers.Information Morning – Fredericton16:57Antony Clavet projectAntony Clavet was a makeup artist to the stars. He worked with famous people includingDavid Bowie. Colleen Kitts-Goguen spoke to John Leroux about his project about the life of Antony Clavet.Before long, he earned a job with Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, where his talent led quickly to career opportunities in Europe.By the time he was 20, he was working for royals, Leroux said.”It’s rare to find talent like that,” said Clavette, describing her brother as a visionary. “He had such an unusual eye and he was so creative.Leroux said Clavet’s art helped shape the look of the 1980s, which featured bright colours and extended eyes, illustrated in this shot from his personal archives. (Submitted by John Leroux)”He could put a face on somebody that had never been done before. He was able to pull out the best in them.”By the mid-80s, his CV included being named “one of the top makeup artists in the world” by Tatler and “The Make Up Master” by People Magazine.Clavet died of bone cancer in 1990 at the age of 45, but even 35 years later, the mark that he left on popular art and culture is evident, Clavette said.”Looking at magazines and makeup, there are cycles where you can see that Antony’s influence comes back.”She said she’s thrilled that Leroux and the other project collaborators are bringing Clavet’s work to new audiences in the digital era.ABOUT THE AUTHORJennifer Sweet has been telling the stories of New Brunswickers for over 20 years. She is originally from Bathurst, got her journalism degree from Carleton University and is based in Fredericton. She can be reached at 451-4176 or jennifer.sweet@cbc.ca.With files from Information Morning Fredericton
This N.B. makeup artist was a friend to stars like David Bowie, helping shape the ’80s look
