Rock wife, supermodel, designer, bestselling author—there's nothing Susan Holmes McKagan can't do
In an exclusive with Harper’s Bazaar, Susan Holmes McKagan opens up about fashion’s golden era, what it's like being backstage at Guns N' Roses concerts, and the freedom that comes with knowing exactly who you are.
She’s walked for Versace in Milan, partied with Gaultier in Paris, and watched stadiums light up from the wings while her husband, Duff McKagan, brought down the house with Guns N’ Roses. Susan Holmes McKagan has been more than a witness to cultural history—she’s helped shape it. A model, designer, author, and now radio host, she is the kind of woman who contains multitudes. In an exclusive conversation with Harper’s Bazaar, Holmes McKagan reflects on a career lived boldly, a style that fuses rock grit with runway elegance, and the creative freedom that comes from knowing exactly who you are.
The Runway as a Classroom
Before the rock-wife iconography, the designer label, or the bestselling novel, Susan Holmes McKagan was simply a girl in a velvet emerald dress, stomping through backstage chaos in tough boots and thrift-store lace. “I’ve always loved a mix of the rough and the romantic,” she says. “Even in my early days modelling, I was pairing handmade crochet gowns with men’s jackets. I didn’t realise then that it would shape how I dress forever.”
Holmes McKagan became a fixture in fashion’s golden '90s—part of that rare generation of models who weren’t just faces but personalities. “Versace, Prada, Mugler, Gaultier—they were all about maximalism and movement,” she remembers. “Walking for them, you learned to feel the garment. To not just wear fashion but to become a part of its story.”
Backstage was where the real education happened. “François Nars taught me to think of a face as a canvas. Sam McKnight could make your hair feel like sculpture. That kind of immersion changes you.”
A Life Beyond the Lens
While the photos might show hair teased sky-high and silhouettes sculpted by couture, what’s less visible is how those years shaped her creative instincts. Today, she’s no longer just the muse, she’s the maker.
As a longtime creative partner to her husband, Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, and now the host of her own radio show Three Chords and The Truth, Holmes McKagan has always lived in two worlds—one foot in the editorial, the other in rock and roll.
But it wasn’t until she published her debut novel, The Velvet Rose, that she truly began to distil both. “It’s a love letter to that era,” she says of the fictionalised retelling of her early career. “Yes, it has the drama, the backstage politics, the chaos but it’s really about a woman learning how to be the architect of her own life.”
The Fashion That Stays
She still holds on to pieces from that era—“Alaïa corsetry, a Versace gown Donatella gifted me after a show”—but they’re less about nostalgia and more about energy. “That’s the thing about truly powerful fashion, it transcends trends.”
But don’t mistake her for someone living in the past. These days, her style is rooted in attitude and clarity. “An oversized blazer, a killer pair of boots, vintage sunglasses. I always return to black, but with a twist—leather peplums, asymmetric cuts, pieces with bite.”
Often, those twists come from her daughter Mae, a Parsons graduate with a line of her own. “Mae made me this amazing straightjacket-style denim coat. It’s a total conversation starter.”
Tokyo Nights and Rock and Roll Rituals
Even now, the glamour hasn't faded, it's just shifted gears. Touring with Guns N’ Roses has become a balance of grit and grace. “Three-hour sets, packed stadiums—it’s intense,” she says. “But I’ve learned how to anchor myself. In Tokyo, we celebrated my birthday between shows—Duff, Mae, the crew. We went vintage shopping at Amore, and I wore this pink leather jacket with anime pigtails. Fashion is still a playground for me.”
Her relationship with Duff is the quiet thread running through it all. “We admire each other’s art. He’s effortless, he’ll write a song, then perfectly make your morning coffee,” she laughs. “He’s always encouraged me to take creative risks. I hope I’ve done the same for him.”
What Comes Next
She’s currently dreaming of a screen adaptation of The Velvet Rose —“maybe a limited series,” she hints. There’s also talk of a second book and more design work, but Holmes McKagan is less focused on output than on intention.
“In the ’90s, individuality was everything. It was okay to look different, to be different. That kind of freedom—that’s what I want to keep alive.” She pauses, then adds: “I think real style comes from knowing yourself. Not in your twenties, not even in your thirties, but after you’ve lived a little. After you’ve changed and kept going.”
And Susan Holmes McKagan? She’s still going.
Lead image: Getty Images
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