On Tuesday, Feb.18, Auburn University’s Department of Consumer and Design Sciences hosted a Creativity and Commerce Event for apparel merchandising and design students.
The event was offered in two different sessions to accommodate students’ schedules, with one lasting from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and the other lasting from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Two guest speakers, Keanan Duffty and Caryn Pang, spoke at the event.
Duffty is a New York-based British designer, singer-songwriter, academic and member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He is also the author of “The Fashion Entrepreneur,” which he signed copies of for students in attendance.
“I thought what I should do is, as well as having my point of view, I should speak to people in our industry and get their perspective on their particular area of expertise — whether that be marketing, branding, retail, the designer business or the media. So I picked individuals, some of whom I'm very good friends with, some of whom I know through our industry, and I asked them about their perspectives on how to succeed,” Duffty said about the process of writing his book.
While Duffty has made most of his living from fashion designing and creating his brand, he was also able to work with his passion for music.
“I've done a lot of stuff based in fashion, but sort of adjacent to fashion, to extend the branding that I created. I've been fortunate to work with people that I've grown up being inspired by, like David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Sex Pistols and a lot of other music people,” Duffty said. “Music has always been my life blood, but I've always made a living doing fashion. I've been lucky to kind of do both things that I really enjoy, and I find that's the most fulfilling thing in life.”
One of Duffty's most iconic projects was his 2007 partnership with David Bowie, resulting in the widely popular "Bowie by Keanan Duffty" fashion line for Target.
Duffty began designing at age 13 when the punk rock movement hit Great Britain. He wanted his style to emulate that of the musicians he was listening to, but he could not find the clothing he wanted, so he opted to make it himself.
“Fashion has become such a business. There's nothing wrong with that, but passion and magic should drive it. I would really encourage you all to find that. I'm sure you have it in yourselves, the passion to do it, because you can make a lot of money doing it, but you can make a lot of money doing something that you didn't really want to do, and it doesn't last. If you find the thing that you really want to do, that's magic and nobody can take that away,” Duffty said.
While Duffty’s narrative appealed more to the apparel design students attending the sessions, Pang’s story closely aligned with the merchandising students.
Pang is a faculty member at Hult International Business School and Parsons School of Design. She has worked with companies such as Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, TJX Corporation and Neiman Marcus and has 15 years of experience as a retail executive.
Pang teaches branding and marketing courses, emphasizing the importance of finding one's brand. She teaches her students the fundamentals of personal branding: value, likeability and relevancy. Pang gave a TED Talk last year titled “Cultivating your personal brand with the VLR framework.”
“When you hook all those letters together, the V, the L, the R, — it comes full circle. You have to show value. Value is also about how likable you are so people approach you, the relevancy, and it's just, it's a circle. You got to have all three. You can't pick and choose,” Pang said.
Following the speakers' individual accounts, the floor opened up for students to ask questions. One student asked Duffty and Pang how they deal with failure.
“There's no book for it, nobody teaches you this. When you are at the age that you are at, you can afford to take those risks. And you know what? Sometimes it's scary. A lot of times it's scary, but you also have to tell yourself that you are at a point in your life where you can do that, and if it doesn't work, you will figure it out because you have to,” Pang said.
When asked about his biggest piece of advice for students entering the workforce, Duffty advised students to just be themselves.
“My main takeaway was that this industry provides many opportunities for creatives to find their space, to share their passions and learn how to collaborate with others,” said Caroline Glennon, sophomore in apparel merchandising.
The sessions each ended with a round of applause and photo opportunities with the guest speakers. The event served as a powerful reminder that passion, authenticity and a strong personal brand are essential ingredients for success in the dynamic world of fashion and beyond.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Sam Vise, senior in journalism, is the Assistant Culture Editor for The Auburn Plainsman. She has previously served as a culture writer and community reporter.
