The Man Behind the Brand
Born in LeFrak City, Queens, New York, to Liberian parents in 1985, Telfar Clemens' family returned to Liberia five years later; compelled by the Liberian Civil War in 1990, he and his family moved back to New York, followed by relatives which Clemens often shared beds and sleeping quarters with relatives. By 1993, Clemens moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland, a suburb outside of Washington, D.C., home to many immigrant families. As a student at Watkins Mill High School, Clemens began experimenting with making clothes by bleaching shirts, removing jeans, and putting them back together to see how they were made. In 2003, he left for New York to begin classes at Pace University to study Accounting, where he lived in a dorm hall down the street from the department store Century 21, known for selling discounted luxury items. Between classes, Clemens would adapt vintage clothes and sell them to Funky Lala, a consignment store in the East Village. In the summer of 2004, the "tall trees" trend emerged, which consisted of oversized white T-shirts, sometimes reaching the knees of whoever was wearing them. Clemens saw this and bought several packs of white Hanes T-shirts to deconstruct them. He constructed a single T-shirt out of three and another out of a combination of T-shirts and tank tops, to the point when a friend working at the Vice store in SoHo showed the shirts to the store's buyers, who eventually decided to start selling them.
Founded in 2005, Telfar specializes in exquisite clothing and accessories, including handbags, denim, knitwear, and sports tops. The Telfar logo—a "T" inside a "C" — was created by his childhood schoolteacher, who drew small monograms on chalkboards using each of his and his classmates' initials. However, Clemens started his label Telfar with money he was making from the Vice store, which was not much, to say the least. Additionally, Clemens had an aunt who worked for a sleepwear company that supplied him with jersey-knit materials, and to support himself, Clemens would DJ at downtown bars such as Happy Ending, Home Sweet Home, and Orchard Bar.
As a DJ, he nurtured his creativity through friendships with other creative minds, such as Hood by Air designer Shayne Oliver. All of these factors show the importance of a village.
Authentic Brand and Social Awareness
The brand stands on countering traditional hyped exclusivity and high prices, opting instead for a new definition of exclusive-one based on attitude, where the price of admission into the club of Telfar doesn't rely on how much money you have, but more so your courage to wear these audacious pieces.
To bolster this ethos, the brand created the Bag Security Program, an initiative aimed at making the highly demanded bags accessible to customers who honestly want to purchase the bag for their own sake. This program prevented botting and unethical resellers from price-hiking a bag meant to be for everyone. However, in a new development, the brand has shifted from the Bag Security Program to TELFARTV,' with the help of Ummah Chroma Collective, to be the brand's streaming platform for live shows and breaking news on upcoming drops, with the hopes of maintaining the brand's community orientation with the idea that Telfar is a mutual relationship between buyers and sellers.
The Telfar Bag
Launched in 2014, the first bag was the "shopping bag," made to model after shopping bags from Bloomingdales, which has built a cult-like following due to its distinctive designs, price points, and accessibility. Depending on size and style, "Bushwick Birkins' range between $150- $257. Initially, this was to resemble the price Clemens charged as a DJ, mentioning in an interview with CBS that he would earn money through DJing gigs, and he wanted the cost of his bags to be the price that you would get DJing one DJ gig."
Key characteristics of the Shopping Bag silhouette include the material, being they are made from 100% vegan leather, adding to the brand's commitment to sustainability and inclusivity. Telfar bags also feature two sets of handles - short double handles for hand-carry and a longer, adjustable, and detachable shoulder strap, allowing for different ways to wear the bag, ultimately increasing its usability. Then, of course, the Telfar logo, a 'T' and 'C' intertwined, is embossed on the front of the bag, historically being a significant part of the bag and the brand's image. Over time, the "Bushwick Birkin" has evolved by maintaining its iconic shape while introducing new variations. These include denim bags, metallic bags, and bags with crystal embellishments.
Runway Impacts
Telfar's F/W 2019 show titled "Country," during New York Fashion Week, staged at Irving Plaza, sought to re-insert Telfar into the fashion landscape and symbolize Telfar's colonization of New York Fashion Week. During the show, playwright Jeremy O. Harris was enlisted to write and perform a monologue. The idea was to re-appropriate the colonial experience to show that Telfar was colonizing New York Fashion Week, putting a stake in the ground where the audience writhed. According to New York Times article, Harris stated it was to propose an idea that "America lives inside the Black queer brain of an immigrant." Pieces of this collection featured relaxed pinstriped suits, jersey dress shirts collaged with images of African American Cowboys, and Fringed crewneck sweaters.
Other notable collections include Telfar's Fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection show where, along with denim being the focus, Clemens emphasized athletic wear where Telfar produced asymmetrical lycra tops and performance-styled leggings after having been the sponsor for the 2020 Liberian Olympic Team, ultimately exposing Clemens' ability to alter proportions and visuals of familiar essentials in such by touching pieces with the same color pallets of his best-selling bags.
Legacy Building
In 2020, when the fashion industry faced an unprecedented challenge, with McKinsey and Company projecting a loss of 90% of its economic profit, Telfar's business thrived, achieving what the designer himself admits was the "best year."With endorsements from Oprah Winfrey to Issa Rae carrying the mini version of the Shopping Bag on "Insecure," according to the global search platform Lyst, the Telfar Bag was the third most wanted item of the year, and searches for the brand have grown 270% week on week since August of 2020.
Having won several awards, from being recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for best accessories designer in 2019, 2020, and 2021, GQ Designer of the Year in 2020, was named by Querrty among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people." Despite being a carnivore, Telfar's vegan leather bags won the PETA award for Most Wanted in 2020, and in 2023, Telfar won ESSENCE's Best Fashion Campaign of the Year.
What's Next?
Along with collaborations with brands such as Ugg, Melissa, Moose Knuckles, and Converse, Telfar has future goals to create a fragrance line, create a sleepy town for friends and family to build, and create without the perceptions of trends we're often exposed to. In a way, Telfar's vision is to resemble Apple by disrupting its respective industry, where its ecosystem is home to the general consumer of a product. - such that Telfar aims to create pieces where almost everyone can/is wearing pieces that are affordable, accessible, and fashionable.
The creative mind of Telfar Clemens, with his approach and vision for genderless, democratic, and inclusive fashion experiences, has redefined the understanding of luxury through his motto, "It's not for you, it's for everyone." Telfar's designs, most notably exhibited through the globally acclaimed 'Bushwick Birkin' bags, are a testament to this philosophy. Available in various sizes and at accessible price points, Telfar's clothing and accessories defy the exclusive nature often associated with luxury goods.