KEANAN DUFFTY
Award-Winning British Fashion Designer, Musician, and Author
ABOUT
Keanan Duffty, is a New York based British designer, singer-songwriter, academic and member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Duffty is co-author of Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style (with Paul Gorman and BP Fallon, Rizzoli/Adelita, 2009) and author of The Fashion Entrepreneur (Hachette, 2024). Duffty earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with first-class honors from Central Saint Martins in London and during his studies his work was regularly featured in The Face, i-D and Blitz magazine, photographed by Nick Knight, Peter Ashworth, Marc Lebon and Iain McKell.
FASHION
After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Duffty embarked on a career in fashion, relocating to New York in 1993 and establishing his eponymous label. Duffty outfitted the Sex Pistols for their 2003 American tour and in 2007 he joined forces with David Bowie to design "Bowie by Keanan Duffty", a fashion collection for the US retailer, Target. Duffty was invited to style the prestigious 2016 CFDA Board of Directors Tribute Award dedicated to Bowie, featuring Tilda Swinton and Michael C. Hall, with original costumes by Kansai Yamamoto and Donatella Versace.
From 1999 to 2010, Keanan Duffty's fashion collections took center stage at New York Fashion Week, with a global presence in 150 premier retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Barneys in New York, Harvey Nichols and Harrods in London, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, Baycrews, and Journal Standard in Japan. 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. Duffty's creative prowess extended to collaborations with Aveda, Dr. Martens, Gola, and Reebok. He has also held significant roles as Design Director for John Varvatos, Ben Sherman, Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B, and Moods of Norway. Notably, Duffty collaborated with David Sylvian, Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones, and author Jon Savage on exclusive, personally signed and numbered t-shirt collections. In March 2022 Duffty showed a career retrospective at El Paseo Fashion Week in Palm Springs, California.
MUSIC
Duffty debuted on the music scene in the early 1980s and has since recorded eight studio albums including "Watersport" (1985), "I am an Alien" (1998), "Scary Psycho Models" (2005), "Killers in Glitter" (2012), "Total Dragon Pop" (2014), "Subway Symphonies" (2019) plus recording a session for BBC Radio's Janice Long Show.
Duffty co-founded Slinky Vagabond alongside Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Clem Burke (Blondie), and Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon). Their debut performance in May 2007, alongside the New York Dolls at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash contributed to fundraising efforts for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Slinky Vagabond's cover of Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" was a standout inclusion on "Hero: The Main Man tribute to David Bowie." Additionally, in 2008, XS games introduced "Pop Star Guitar" for the Wii and PlayStation 2, featuring the Slinky Vagabond track "Glitterbug", written by Duffty.
Slinky Vagabond's album "King Boy Vandals" (2021), a collaborative effort between Duffty and guitarist, producer, and songwriter Fabio Fabbri, features a star-studded lineup of musicians, 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 from the album "The Beauty in You" was mixed by Grammy Award Winner Mario McNulty (Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails). Forbes' David Chiu lauded "King Boy Vandals" as 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 forthcoming Slinky Vagabond album (2024), written by Duffty and Fabio Fabbri, who also produced the album, features David Bowie's piano man Mike Garson, guest vocals from Ava Cherry, fretless bass legend Percy Jones (Brian Eno/Brand X) and keyboard player Dom Beken (Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets/The Orb). The album features the song "Perfect World", co-written with Glen Matlock and "End of the Show" co-written with Earl Slick.
Duffty graced the stage at the Marc Bolan 30th Anniversary show at the Delacorte Theatre in New York's Central Park in September 2007, sharing the spotlight with Blondie's Clem Burke, Patti Smith, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, New York Dolls, and Moby. As part of the Tommy Hilfiger Sessions 2008 New York concert series at Webster Hall Duffty's performed "Pretty Vacant" alongside Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction) and Matt Sorum (Guns n' Roses) and the supergroup Camp Freddy. Duffty was part of the David Bowie World Fan Convention's New York City debut in June 2023, joining Ava Cherry on Stage to sing 'The Jean Genie" and performing 'Starman' and 'Ziggy Stardust' with Bowie band alumni Kevin Armstrong and Mark Plati. Duffty will be part of the line up at the David Bowie World Fan Convention 2024 in Liverpool, UK.
MEDIA
Duffty is quoted in numerous books, including "Sweet Dreams, The Story of the New Romantics," "David Bowie: A Life," and "When Ziggy Played Guitar," all by Dylan Jones. As the fashion editor-at-large for San Francisco-based SOMA Magazine, Duffty has interviewed influential cultural figures including Diesel's Stefano Rosso, CFDA President Steven Kolb, Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV), Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), and Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire). Duffty's expertise frequently graces the pages of major international media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Women's Wear Daily, Forbes, and Business of Fashion.
From 2008 to 2011, Duffty co-hosted "The Juice" on Emmy Award-Winning Hampton's based Plum TV, where he engaged in dynamic conversations with an eclectic array 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, Courtney Cox, Dame Zandra Rhodes, John Varvatos, and Chase Crawford. His role as a mentor on The Learning Channel's "Faking It: Fatigues to Fashionista" further solidified his status as a fashion authority. He graced the screens of MTV, Video Fashion, E! Entertainment, and Behind the Velvet Ropes. His engaging presence extended to the airwaves, from 2016-2019 hosting the 'Rebel Rebel' show on Little Water Radio and guesting Sirius XM, East Village Radio and Steve Jones' legendary show, "Jonesy's Jukebox". Most recently Duffty interviewed Kid Cudi in December 2023 as part of the events series at Istituto Marangoni Miami during Art Basel.
ACADEMIA
Keanan Duffty is recognized as a highly experienced creative practitioner and academic leader. The cornerstone of his vision is to reimagine higher education at the intersection of fashion, music & performing arts, technology and entrepreneurship and as a catalyst for social justice, technological innovation and cultural development. Duffty is committed to nurturing emerging talent and this led him to found the Master's in Fashion Management program at Parsons School of Design/The New School, where he served as Director and later as Director of Fashion Programs in Executive Education. Before joining The New School Duffty served as a Director of Merchandising at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and as a professor of fashion and styling at Polimoda in Florence, Italy. In January 2023, he was appointed Dean at the Italian fashion school Istituto Marangoni Miami.
"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 a New York based British designer, singer-songwriter, academic and member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Duffty is co-author of Rebel Rebel: Anti-Style (with Paul Gorman and BP Fallon, Rizzoli/Adelita, 2009) and author of The Fashion Entrepreneur (Hachette, 2024). Duffty earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with first-class honors from Central Saint Martins in London and during his studies his work was regularly featured in The Face, i-D and Blitz magazine, photographed by Nick Knight, Peter Ashworth, Marc Lebon and Iain McKell.
FASHION
After graduating from Central Saint Martins, Duffty embarked on a career in fashion, relocating to New York in 1993 and establishing his eponymous label. Duffty outfitted the Sex Pistols for their 2003 American tour and in 2007 he joined forces with David Bowie to design "Bowie by Keanan Duffty", a fashion collection for the US retailer, Target. Duffty was invited to style the prestigious 2016 CFDA Board of Directors Tribute Award dedicated to Bowie, featuring Tilda Swinton and Michael C. Hall, with original costumes by Kansai Yamamoto and Donatella Versace.
From 1999 to 2010, Keanan Duffty's fashion collections took center stage at New York Fashion Week, with a global presence in 150 premier retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Barneys in New York, Harvey Nichols and Harrods in London, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, Baycrews, and Journal Standard in Japan. 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. Duffty's creative prowess extended to collaborations with Aveda, Dr. Martens, Gola, and Reebok. He has also held significant roles as Design Director for John Varvatos, Ben Sherman, Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B, and Moods of Norway. Notably, Duffty collaborated with David Sylvian, Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones, and author Jon Savage on exclusive, personally signed and numbered t-shirt collections. In March 2022 Duffty showed a career retrospective at El Paseo Fashion Week in Palm Springs, California.
MUSIC
Duffty debuted on the music scene in the early 1980s and has since recorded eight studio albums including "Watersport" (1985), "I am an Alien" (1998), "Scary Psycho Models" (2005), "Killers in Glitter" (2012), "Total Dragon Pop" (2014), "Subway Symphonies" (2019) plus recording a session for BBC Radio's Janice Long Show.
Duffty co-founded Slinky Vagabond alongside Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Clem Burke (Blondie), and Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon). Their debut performance in May 2007, alongside the New York Dolls at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash contributed to fundraising efforts for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Slinky Vagabond's cover of Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" was a standout inclusion on "Hero: The Main Man tribute to David Bowie." Additionally, in 2008, XS games introduced "Pop Star Guitar" for the Wii and PlayStation 2, featuring the Slinky Vagabond track "Glitterbug", written by Duffty.
Slinky Vagabond's album "King Boy Vandals" (2021), a collaborative effort between Duffty and guitarist, producer, and songwriter Fabio Fabbri, features a star-studded lineup of musicians, 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 from the album "The Beauty in You" was mixed by Grammy Award Winner Mario McNulty (Bowie, Prince, Nine Inch Nails). Forbes' David Chiu lauded "King Boy Vandals" as 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 forthcoming Slinky Vagabond album (2024), written by Duffty and Fabio Fabbri, who also produced the album, features David Bowie's piano man Mike Garson, guest vocals from Ava Cherry, fretless bass legend Percy Jones (Brian Eno/Brand X) and keyboard player Dom Beken (Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets/The Orb). The album features the song "Perfect World", co-written with Glen Matlock and "End of the Show" co-written with Earl Slick.
Duffty graced the stage at the Marc Bolan 30th Anniversary show at the Delacorte Theatre in New York's Central Park in September 2007, sharing the spotlight with Blondie's Clem Burke, Patti Smith, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, New York Dolls, and Moby. As part of the Tommy Hilfiger Sessions 2008 New York concert series at Webster Hall Duffty's performed "Pretty Vacant" alongside Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction) and Matt Sorum (Guns n' Roses) and the supergroup Camp Freddy. Duffty was part of the David Bowie World Fan Convention's New York City debut in June 2023, joining Ava Cherry on Stage to sing 'The Jean Genie" and performing 'Starman' and 'Ziggy Stardust' with Bowie band alumni Kevin Armstrong and Mark Plati. Duffty will be part of the line up at the David Bowie World Fan Convention 2024 in Liverpool, UK.
MEDIA
Duffty is quoted in numerous books, including "Sweet Dreams, The Story of the New Romantics," "David Bowie: A Life," and "When Ziggy Played Guitar," all by Dylan Jones. As the fashion editor-at-large for San Francisco-based SOMA Magazine, Duffty has interviewed influential cultural figures including Diesel's Stefano Rosso, CFDA President Steven Kolb, Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV), Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), and Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire). Duffty's expertise frequently graces the pages of major international media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Women's Wear Daily, Forbes, and Business of Fashion.
From 2008 to 2011, Duffty co-hosted "The Juice" on Emmy Award-Winning Hampton's based Plum TV, where he engaged in dynamic conversations with an eclectic array 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, Courtney Cox, Dame Zandra Rhodes, John Varvatos, and Chase Crawford. His role as a mentor on The Learning Channel's "Faking It: Fatigues to Fashionista" further solidified his status as a fashion authority. He graced the screens of MTV, Video Fashion, E! Entertainment, and Behind the Velvet Ropes. His engaging presence extended to the airwaves, from 2016-2019 hosting the 'Rebel Rebel' show on Little Water Radio and guesting Sirius XM, East Village Radio and Steve Jones' legendary show, "Jonesy's Jukebox". Most recently Duffty interviewed Kid Cudi in December 2023 as part of the events series at Istituto Marangoni Miami during Art Basel.
ACADEMIA
Keanan Duffty is recognized as a highly experienced creative practitioner and academic leader. The cornerstone of his vision is to reimagine higher education at the intersection of fashion, music & performing arts, technology and entrepreneurship and as a catalyst for social justice, technological innovation and cultural development. Duffty is committed to nurturing emerging talent and this led him to found the Master's in Fashion Management program at Parsons School of Design/The New School, where he served as Director and later as Director of Fashion Programs in Executive Education. Before joining The New School Duffty served as a Director of Merchandising at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and as a professor of fashion and styling at Polimoda in Florence, Italy. In January 2023, he was appointed Dean at the Italian fashion school Istituto Marangoni Miami.
"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)
REBEL! REBEL! ON THE RUNWAY
Fashion Week El Paseo (2022)
REEBOK COLLABORATION
Duffty teamed with Reebok to create one of the first designer sneaker collaborations in the industry
FEATURED PRESS
Keanan In The News
Yahoo! News
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Palm Springs Life
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WWD
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Palm Springs Life
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Forbes
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Forbes
READ THE INTERVIEW
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LATEST VIDEOS
A Collection of Videos Featuring Keanan
MUSIC BY KEANAN
"King Boy Vandals" by Slinky Vagabond
"The nostalgic aspects of King Boy Vandals can be traced to Duffty's early forays into music when he was a teenaged member of the punk band Sordid Details in 1978. "We wanted to be the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Generation X, all of those bands," says Duffty. "We played in village halls and school gymnasiums. Wherever we could get a gig, we would play. It was great. Punk gave permission for people that didn't have the technique yet to just get out and do it." A short time later—during the New Romantic period—he co-founded the electronic collective Wonder Stories, whose music was reviewed in the popular British music publication Sounds. "Suddenly it was kind of like, 'Wow, we can do this.' And the review said we sounded like a cross between Bauhaus, Cabaret Voltaire, and a broken Electrolux vacuum cleaner. And I was thinking, 'This is great.'" After Wonder Stories broke up, Duffty reemerged as a solo artist in the mid-1980s and recorded the pop single "Water Sport." By that time, however, he was already eyeing a career in fashion. In the early 1990s, he moved to New York City where he has lived ever since."
– David Chiu, Forbes
– David Chiu, Forbes
CONTACT KEANAN
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