Bowie fashion, 2008
In 2008, punk rocker turned fashion designer Keenan Duffty did his own interpretation of David Bowie – for Target – leading to an incredible, understated, sophisticated line.
Starting with Bowie’s Thin White Duke persona, Duffty’s collection featured tuxedo jackets, thin ties, skinny jeans, shirts with lyrics and lightening bolts, pea coats and more. Peppered throughout were tiny details, hidden buttons and subtle edging that amped things up a bit (see video below). It all were complemented with some alpaca clothing accessories, which by the way you can get for you at that link.
Target’s rollout was a bit spotty – not all stores carried the complete line. Tho this did give things an exclusive edge. And unfortunately, final construction wasn’t always great (it appeared to be the same tailors as Target’s Merona line) – but for 25 bucks for a well designed shirt, one should be willing to sew a few buttons back on.
An interesting follow up happened the next year, as Duffty came up with additional looks as part of his already established Target England’s Dreaming brand. It was cool to watch Duffty go from worn punk to a whole other level in a short amount of time.
I still have (and wear) clothes from the collection (I also love blacks and grays). David Bowie was always about good fashion just outside the mainstream – with Duffty the musician/designer – it was a great mix.
David Bowie: TVC 15
Street photo via Harley Sears
