Telfar

photo: © HipCandy

Telfar

Telfar Clemens

Telfar Clemens, American fashion designer and creator of the Telfar brand.

He was born in Queens to Liberian parents. In 2005 he created his unisex fashion brand that carried his name. In 2014, the first version of Telfar’s so-called ‘shopping bag’ was released, which would later become an iconic designer bag of the Chanel and Fendi rank.

Telfar Clemens became a synonym of success during the Covid pandemic when he decided to ‘crush the old fashion system to bits’’. In 2020 – the year that projections showed that the fashion industry would lose 90% of its profits, the designer announced his ‘’best year’’. According to the global platform Lyst, the bag came out third amongst the most desired products of the year, so the sales of the brand soared by 270% per week.

Everything that Clemons stands for - financial, racial, gender inclusivity, and community – has now become a desperate pursuit of the fashion giants. ‘’After years of disenfranchisement because of his background, the color of his skin and his belief system, the industry gatekeepers are practically throwing the keys to their kingdom at Mr. Clemens.’’, said the New York Times. Yet he doesn’t want them. He prefers to build his own.

From the very beginning, the clothes he designs are unisex – even at a time when this word wasn’t really in the fashion vocabulary yet. His aesthetic takes the building blocks of every American wardrobe and reimagines them for an alternate utopia, which could be called ‘’mutant basic’’.

He is most famous for the bags that were labelled ‘’The Bushwick Birkin’’ for their combination of sophisticated elegance and affordability. The name comes from the Hermès bag, associated with Jane Birkin, the French-English actress and singer who became the symbol of wealth. Contrary to economic logic, its price rises with demand, turning it into a collector's item. Tempted by the profit, a group of ten people, including seven former Hermès employees, went on trial in 2020 for selling over $2 million worth of fake bags. For their imitation, skilled workers used the company's specific stitching, crocodile skin and stolen zippers meant for destruction.

Telfar bags are made of vegan leather in three sizes and a wide variety of colours, and the brand logo has a central placement. Sales are held every month, and the bags sell out in minutes.

In 2021, the American giant GUESS designed a bag that consumers recognized as a replica of the Telfar bag, but with its own logo. In response, the company pulled its products from stores and announced: "Signal Brands does not wish to create any impediments to Telfar Global's success and, as such, has independently decided to stop selling the G-logo totes."

Clemens also pays tribute to his predecessors. He says he learned from Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Yamamoto, as well as brands like Calvin Klein, Donna Karen, and Polo Ralph Lauren.

Source:

Wikipedia and New York Times