Duffy Reflects on Creating Viral Hair Moments at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion

The Alaïa scraped ponytails. Those Haider Ackermann bolbous bouffonts. And, of course, the higher-than-high Marc Jacobs doll hair and Maison Margiela couture show. These were all topics of conversation at Vogue’s 2024 Forces of Fashion session with hairstylist—no, hair artist—Duffy.

Cheekily named “The Hair Apparent,” the session went all the way back to the start of Duffy’s career. “I discovered hairdressing at 13,” he shared. “My mum put me on the train to London and walked me into Vidal Sassoon.” From there he started his apprenticeship in the salon, which included sweeping up, making tea, and washing towels. It was also how he met Eugene Sulieman—“he was one of the greatest then, and to me, he is still a God,” Duffy says—and learned about runway hairstyling.

“For me, hairdressing is about complementing the other people within that creative environment,” Duffy shared about his workflow, his incredible team, and the joy of frequently collaborating with Pat McGrath (the makeup artist known as “Mother” had just taken the Forces stage an hour before him). “It’s not about a curl or a bit of backcombing. For me, doing hair is about what I can do to change the silhouette that you perceive of the person in front of you.”