KEANAN DUFFTY

Keanan Duffty is an award-winning British designer, musician, and educator who has built a compelling body of work in music and fashion over the past four decades. A graduate of Central Saint Martins with a Bachelor of Arts degree with first-class honors, Duffty’s designs were regularly featured in The Face, iD, and Blitz magazines during his time at CSM. He also released the acclaimed EDM record Watersport and recorded a session for BBC Radio’s Janice Long Show.

In 2007, Duffty became a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). He is the co-author of Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style (with Paul Gorman, Adelita UK/Rizzoli US, 2009) and the author of The Fashion Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide to Building Your Brand (Laurence King/Hachette, 2024). Duffty co-founded the supergroup Slinky Vagabond, alongside Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Clem Burke (Blondie), and Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon). In 2025, he received the Music Innovation Award from Education Through Music New York, recognizing his contributions to the intersection of music and design. Through his numerous fashion shows and music performances, Duffty continues to inspire and empower emerging creative talents to navigate today’s increasingly competitive creative landscape.

After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Keanan Duffty embarked on a fashion career that led him to New York in 1993, where he established his Slinky Vagabond label. In 2001, Duffty and his wife, Nancy Garcia, opened a design studio in New York’s SoHo district and a Slinky Vagabond retail store at 50 Spring Street in Nolita. Around this time, Duffty’s fashion collections began to take center stage at New York Fashion Week.

His designs achieved global reach, sold through more than 150 premier retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, and Barneys in New York; Harvey Nichols and Harrods in London; Lane Crawford in Hong Kong; and Baycrews and Journal Standard in Japan. Duffty designed stage outfits for the Sex Pistols during their 2003 American tour, and in 2007 he collaborated with David Bowie to create Bowie by Keanan Duffty, a fashion collection for U.S. retailer Target. In 2016, Duffty was invited to style the CFDA Board of Directors Tribute Award honoring Bowie, featuring Tilda Swinton and Michael C. Hall, and showcasing original costumes by Kansai Yamamoto and Donatella Versace.

Duffty’s creative collaborations span brands such as Aveda, Dr. Martens, Gola, Reebok, Medicom Toy, and Kidrobot. He has also served as Design Director for John Varvatos, Ben Sherman, Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B., and Moods of Norway. Notably, he partnered with musicians David Sylvian and Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), as well as author Jon Savage, to produce exclusive, signed, and numbered T-shirt collections. In March 2022, Duffty presented a career retrospective runway show at El Paseo Fashion Week in Palm Springs, California.

Keanan Duffty made his musical debut with the punk band Sordid Details and the electronic group Wonder Stories. He has since recorded several studio albums, including Watersport (1985), I Am an Alien (1998), Scary Psycho Models (2005), Killers in Glitter (2012), Total Dragon Pop (2014), and Subway Symphonies (2019), as well as a live session for BBC Radio’s Janice Long Show (1985).

Duffty co-founded Slinky Vagabond and the band made its debut in May 2007, performing alongside the New York Dolls at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash in support of the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Slinky Vagabond’s cover of Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging” was featured on Hero: The Main Man Tribute to David Bowie. In 2008, XS Games released Pop Star Guitar for Wii and PlayStation 2, which included the Duffty-penned Slinky Vagabond track “Glitterbug” described by Last.fm as “a Sex Pistols-esque rocker with Earl Slick's signature guitar sound, Glen Matlock's melodic bass and Clem Burke's driving drums. Keanan Duffty's voice mixes Bowie cockney rebellion and Rotten's snarl”.

Slinky Vagabond’s 2021 album King Boy Vandals—a collaboration between Duffty and guitarist, producer, and songwriter Fabio Fabbri—features an all-star lineup including Midge Ure (Live Aid/Visage/Ultravox), Dave Formula(Magazine/Visage), Richard Fortus (Psychedelic Furs/Guns N’ Roses), David Torn (Bowie/David Sylvian), Tony Bowers (Durutti Column/Simply Red), and Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash). The first single, “The Beauty in You,” was mixed by Grammy Award winner Mario McNulty (Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails). Forbes’ David Chiu named King Boy Vandals one of the “notable albums of 2021,” placing it alongside Duran Duran’s Future Past, Gary Kemp’s INSOLO, and David Bowie’s Toy.

The follow-up, The Eternal Return (2025), written by Duffty and Fabbri (who also produced the album), features Bowie’s pianist Mike Garson, guest vocals from Ava Cherry, fretless bass legend Percy Jones (Brian Eno/Brand X), and keyboardist Dom Beken (Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets/The Orb). The album includes “Perfect World”—co-written with Glen Matlock—and “End of the Show,” co-written with Earl Slick.

Duffty’s live performances have been equally notable. He appeared at the Marc Bolan 30th Anniversary Show at New York’s Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (September 2007), sharing the stage with Clem Burke, Patti Smith, Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), the New York Dolls, and Moby. As part of the Tommy Hilfiger Sessions concert series at Webster Hall in 2008, Duffty performed “Pretty Vacant” alongside Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses), and the supergroup Camp Freddy.

In 2023, Duffty joined Ava Cherry onstage at the David Bowie World Fan Convention in New York City to perform “The Jean Genie,” as well as “Starman” and “Ziggy Stardust” with Bowie band alumni Kevin Armstrong and Mark Plati. He also performed at the David Bowie World Fan Convention 2024 in Liverpool, UK.

Keanan Duffty has been featured in numerous books, including Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics, David Bowie: A Life, and When Ziggy Played Guitar— all authored by Dylan Jones.

As Fashion Editor-at-Large for San Francisco–based SOMA Magazine, Duffty has interviewed a wide range of influential cultural figures, including Stefano Rosso (Diesel), Steven Kolb (CFDA President), Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV), Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), and Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire). Duffty’s insights and expertise have been featured in major international media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Women’s Wear Daily, Forbes, and The Business of Fashion. From 2008 to 2011, Duffty co-hosted The Juice on Emmy Award–winning, Hamptons-based Plum TV, where he conducted dynamic interviews with an eclectic roster of guests including Gore Vidal, Donna Karan, Laura Dern, Tommy Hilfiger, Russell Simmons, Elvis Costello, Mark Ronson, Perry Farrell, Malcolm McLaren, Edward Norton, Taraji P. Henson, Alec Baldwin, Courteney Cox, Dame Zandra Rhodes, John Varvatos, and Chace Crawford.

His role as a mentor on The Learning Channel’s Faking It: Fatigues to Fashionista further cemented his reputation as a trusted fashion authority. Duffty has also appeared on MTV, Video Fashion, E! Entertainment, and Behind the Velvet Ropes. From 2016 to 2019, he hosted the Rebel Rebel radio show on Little Water Radio, and has guested on SiriusXM, East Village Radio, and Steve Jones’ iconic Jonesy’s Jukebox. In December 2023, Duffty interviewed Kid Cudi at Istituto Marangoni Miami during Art Basel.

Keanan Duffty is a faculty member at the University of Southern California’s Jimmy Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young Academy in Los Angeles where he leads the Master of Science in Fashion Innovation program. Previously, Duffty founded the Master’s in Fashion Management program at Parsons School of Design New York, where he served as Director and later as Director of Fashion Programs in Executive Education. Before joining Parsons, Duffty was Director of Merchandising at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a professor of fashion and styling at Polimoda in Florence, Italy. In January 2023, he was appointed Dean of the Italian fashion school Istituto Marangoni Miami, where he served until late 2024.

"In all my years, I can't think of anyone who is as dedicated to their students, and POSITIVE and encouraging–but also EXPERIENCED, talented, and inspirational to students as you."
–Sara Kozlowski, Vice President of Program Strategies, Education + Sustainability Initiatives, Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)

"Keanan Duffty is hands down the best professor I’ve had at USC Iovine and Young Academy. Keanan also constantly invests in his students’ growth. He goes out of his way to connect us with opportunities, encourage our ideas, and push us to think bigger about where we can take our work and careers."
-Makaya Nehorai Tome, University of Southern California’s Iovine and Young Academy graduate

“Professor Duffty’s classes were some of the most engaging I took at USC’s Iovine and Young Academy. He combines deep industry experience with an inspiring teaching style, making the global fashion system feel both accessible and forward-thinking. His courses challenged me to think critically and apply real-world insights—an invaluable experience. I highly recommend his courses to students interested in the future of fashion."
-Maram Finnell, USC Iovine and Young Academy graduate

“Taking two of Keanan Duffty’s classes gave me a front-row view of today’s evolving fashion landscape. Keanan Duffty’s classes pushed me to think like both a designer and a strategist. His perspective on fashion and culture reshaped how I approach storytelling, integrate technology, and building a brand with purpose."
-Araceli Gomez, USC Iovine and Young Academy graduate

“Keanan Duffty's fashion innovation class has been the highlight of my time at USC Iovine and Young Academy thus far. Along with many fellow students, I am grateful for the kindness and respect he brings to his teaching."
-Christina Oo, USC Iovine and Young Academy graduate student