Fashion designer, musician, educator. Over the years, Keanan Duffty has worn all those hats. And now he can add author to his résumé.
On Tuesday, Hachette will publish “The Fashion Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide to Building Your Brand.” The book is a comprehensive guide targeted to aspiring entrepreneurs in the fashion industry, offering insights on how to transform a business idea into reality. Among the topics tackled are how to establish a legal framework, create a business strategy, structure operations, expand a business and devise growth strategies.
“Readers will gain both theoretical knowledge and practical techniques for managing supply chains and implementing effective marketing strategies,” Duffty said. “Drawing from my professional expertise and featuring interviews with prominent figures in the fashion world, the book emphasizes that despite the challenges plaguing the industry, there has never been a more opportune moment for visionary entrepreneurs to make their mark.”
Duffty, a U.K. native, relocated to New York in 1993 after graduating from Central Saint Martins to establish his own eponymous brand. He outfitted the Sex Pistols for their 2003 American tour and in 2007, he worked with David Bowie on a co-branded fashion collection for Target. Over the years, he has also worked as design director for John Varvatos, Ben Sherman and Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. collection.
Keanan Duffty
Courtesy of Keanan Duffty
In recent years, Duffty has worked in academia and founded the master’s in fashion management program at The New School’s Parsons School of Design. He also worked for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, the Polimoda in Florence, Italy, and since, January 2023, he has served as dean of the Italian fashion school Istituto Marangoni Miami.
With that as a backdrop, the book opens with a forward written by Laure Heriard Dubreuil, founder and chief executive officer of The Webster, who writes: “The Fashion Entrepreneur challenges readers to ponder the essence of their business, as well as its values, societal impact and contribution to reshaping the fashion system for the better. It encapsulates the spirit of entrepreneurship in fashion, urging us to dream big, embrace the positive and contribute meaningfully to the evolving narrative of an industry that spans continents and cultures.”
In addition to its lessons on creating and building a business, the book also features interviews with some of fashion’s notable names including Tommy Hilfiger and Jenny Packham. Milk founder Mazdack Rassi, fashion lawyer Betsy Pearce (known for her work with McQueen), and other figures in fashion marketing, publicity, brand collaboration and legal representation are among the case studies featured in the book.
Duffty said he’s planning a speaking tour in the fall to institutions including Central Saint Martins and the University of Southern California and there will also be a series of video interviews with entrepreneurs uploaded weekly to YouTube to accompany the publication and book tour. He is also slated to address the Fashion Institute of Technology/Global Fashion Management international seminar on Sept. 19 where he will speak to approximately 70 students and several faculty members from FIT partner schools in Paris, Hong Kong and Mexico City.
A look from the University of Failure line.
Aleksandr Karjaka
At the same time he was finishing the book, Duffty was also creating another fashion collection. Ironically, the streetwear brand is called University of Failure. He is producing the line in partnership with Francesco Michelacci, founder of MIDA. The collection is being sold in the Mod Box concept shop of TJX Europe, Duffty said. MIDA will deliver 5,000-piece drops of some 12 to 14 styles each. Michelacci anticipates that the brand will make six drops per year.
