Antonio Lopez was born in Utuado, Puerto Rico. When he was seven years old, his family moved to New York City.His parents, Maria Luisa Cruz and Francisco Lopez influenced him to apply his artistic talents to fashion.He attended the High School of Art and Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. While attending the F.I.T. he began an internship at Women's Wear Daily which led to him leaving school and working at the publication. Shortly afterward he left for a position at the New York Times.

Lopez worked in close collaboration with Juan Eugene Ramos. He also did illustrations of fashion designs by Charles James.

In 1969 he moved to Paris along with Ramos and was an associate of Karl Lagerfeld; he stayed there until the mid-1970s.Antonio discovered Jessica Lange in 1974.He discovered Jerry Hall and lived with her in Paris at the beginning of her modeling career.

Lopez and Ramos also discovered Grace Jones and Tina Chow.

In additions to books of his fashion illustration, the book Antonio's Tales From the Thousand and One Nights was published in 1985. The book was the inspiration for Marc Jacobs' 2007 "Arabian Nights" event.

His circle of friends also included the photographer Bill Cunningham; circa 1966 Antonio introduced him to photographer David Montgomery, who gave Cunningham his first camera.

Lopez died of Kaposi's Sarcoma as a complication of AIDS at UCLA Medical Center; he was living in New York but was in Los Angeles for an exhibition of his art; he was attended by his friend and model Susan Baraz.

His collaborator Juan Eugene Ramos survived until 1995, when he also died of AIDS.

Lopez explored themes of queer desire and race in his art through cultural references to subjects such as Josephine Baker and The Wild One.

Painter Paul Caranicas is president of the Antonio Lopez Foundation.

The organization Focus on AIDS, which raises funds for AIDS research, care and education through photography auctions was founded in 1987 by Baraz and Vue magazine publisher Hossein Farmani in response to Lopez' death.

Designer Hannah MacGibbon cited Lopez as an inspiration for her Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear Collection for Chloé.

Lopez' work was included in April 2009 exhibit "The Line of Fashion", curated by Robert Richards at the Society of Illustrators in association with the Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation.

His work is also included in the exhibit "Drawing Fashion" at the Design Museum in London, England, running November 17, 2010- March 6, 2011.

Students at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City request his name at the library more than any other.