Keanan Duffty is an accomplished fashion designer and creative director with an extensive background in collaborating with renowned brands such as Aveda, Dr. Martens, Reebok, Ben Sherman, Gwen Stefani, and John Varvatos. Notably, he partnered with David Bowie in 2007 to create a collection for Target and dressed the Sex Pistols for their 2003 American tour. Duffty is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and served as the stylist for the 2016 CFDA Board of Directors Tribute Award to David Bowie, which featured appearances by Tilda Swinton and Michael C. Hall, with costumes by Kansai Yamamoto and Donatella Versace. In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Duffty brought six designers from Kyiv to present their fashion collections at Mastercard’s Tech Hub during New York Fashion Week in September 2022.
Duffty's design approach is rooted in immersive storytelling, a hallmark of his eponymous collections that have been sold in prestigious showrooms across New York, London, and Tokyo. His designs have reached over 150 international retailers, including Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Barney’s New York, Harvey Nichols, Harrods London, Lane Crawford Hong Kong, and leading stores in Japan such as Baycrews, Beams, and Journal Standard.
In the academic sphere, Duffty has held leadership roles such as Dean of Fashion at Istituto Marangoni Miami and Director of Fashion Programs at Parsons School of Design, where he launched the Master’s Professional Studies (MPS) in Fashion Management. At Parsons, he also collaborated with the Vice Provost for Executive Education to develop innovative Executive and Professional Graduate programs in fashion. At the USC Iovine and Young Academy, Duffty teaches master-level courses that explore the intersections of fashion, innovation, technology, purpose-driven design, and entrepreneurship. He has also delivered lectures at prominent institutions, including Central Saint Martin’s London, Vogue College of Fashion, Bunka Fashion College Tokyo, Fashion Institute of Technology New York, and ESSEC Paris.
Equally prolific as a musician and singer/songwriter, Duffty co-founded the supergroup Slinky Vagabond with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) and Clem Burke (Blondie), along with guitar legend Earl Slick (David Bowie/John Lennon). The band made their live debut in 2007 at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash Lymphoma research fundraiser. Slinky Vagabond’s cover of David Bowie’s “Boys Keep Swinging”, appeared on Hero: The Main Man Tribute to David Bowie, with Buzzcocks founder Pete Shelley providing backing vocals. Slinky Vagabond’s song Glitterbug written by Duffty, was featured in the Wii/PlayStation 2 game Pop Star Guitar.
Slinky Vagabond’s 2021 album King Boy Vandals featured collaborations with Live Aid co-founder Midge Ure, Magazine’s Dave Formula, Guns N’ Roses’ Richard Fortus, David Torn, and Simply Red’s Tony Bowers. Forbes listed the album among 2021’s most notable releases. 2025’s The Eternal Return included contributions from Bowie band alums Mike Garson and Ava Cherry and songs co-written with Glen Matlock, and Earl Slick. Education Through Music, a New York nonprofit organization providing music tuition in underserved schools, honored Duffty with the 2025 Music Innovation Award for his decades-long mentorship and empowerment of the next generation of creative minds.