So what makes this brand stand out among so many other luxury labels?
As it turns out, a number of things.
Clemens planned to leave Maryland as soon as he could and move permanently to New York.
“The day that I graduated high school was the day that I moved.
Like the first chance that I got, I was out,” he toldNPR.
The next day, I’d do it all over again."
Clemens officially established his brand in 2005, when the first Telfar fashion show took place.
At the time, he worked alone (via Vogue).
But even when he added people to his team, the whole thing was very DIY in those days.
In fact,The New York Timesreported that Gallagher didn’t even get paid until 2017!
Babak was almost forced into working with me."
The brand has certainly come a long way since those early years!
Not even just in a racial sense, but even gender and class.
The whole point of the line is that it’s universal.
And that specifically is what makes it politically charged or challenging.
But Telfar is saying, ‘No, this is normal.'"
I think it’s about time the world supports a genuinely inclusive brand."
CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winners alsoreceive mentorshipto help grow their brands.
This, of course, defeats the whole purpose of Telfar’s message of inclusivity and accessibility.
At one point, Telfar temporarily shut down after the bags sold out in mere seconds.
“Telfar is for the people.
Not the bots,” read an Instagram post uploaded that day (viaVogue Business).
However, Telfar Clemens later explained that most of the web traffic had come from real people.
“Essentially, we broke the internet” (viaComplex).
Still, having to deal with bots and resellers is not ideal.
That same year, Telfar and White Castle teamed up to design fresh new uniforms, according toVogue.
They are true ORIGINALS and this honor means the absolute world to me."
“And then this happened.”
“It’s meaningful to me on a lot of levels,” he added.
shorts compression shorts with a really fun name.
Oprah Winfrey, for one, named the Telfar Shopping Bag one of herfavorite things of 2020.
Just a few proponents of the “Bushwick Birkin”?
Yep, that’s right folks: The Telfar Shopping Bag is a hot commodity even on Capitol Hill.
In fact, Telfar Clemens toldVogue UK, “I just want to be everywhere, truly global.
I want to dress everybody.”
When he says “everybody,” he’s not only talking about everybody in Hollywood he really meanseverybody.
He further explained toDazed, “I want to be mass-marketed in a way that’s scary.
It’s like a Michael Kors bag.
Everybody has one of those.
But it’s even dumber than that.
I want to beMichael Kors, but on purpose.”
“I hate fashionpeople.
Nobody involved in fashion has good style.”
We’re guessing anyone involved in the Telfar brand is the exception!
Still, there was some outcry from Telfar fans.
The situation proved to be an opportunity to discuss Black-owned companies and perceptions surrounding their price points.
It’s worth noting that even with the higher cost, the Circle Bagsold outas soon as it dropped.
“There is one coming,” Clemens said on the radio show (viaPaper Magazine).
I don’t want to say too much about it, but we’re opening a store."
I would love to ignore Manhattan."
