The Rise of Telfar
Priscilla Febus
Business Fashion Editor
You might recognize the famous TikTok sound in various videos of a “Telfeezy” and featured in those videos are a Telfar bag in a variety of sizes. They are not easy to get, since people have to sign up for reminders to when a new color will be dropped to shop for at a certain time, which is what makes the bag carry an appeal to everyone. Being able to get something that feels almost unattainable, but still be in a high price range that is still accessible to pay for. All this makes the experience feel like a luxury that one would think was not possible.
The creator of Telfar, Telfar Clemens, is a Liberian-American who founded the brand in 2005 as genderless clothing. His mission was to create clothing that was about inclusivity, as many products are targeted to specific genders, for Telfar the products are for anyone, no gender targeted.
The New York Times called the year 2020 as The Year of Telfar, due to the rise of its popularity. One of the reasons being that in the year of 2020 there was an increase of interest in buying from black-owned businesses. As people began to create lists of different products from black-owned companies, Telfar was named multiple names. One of those lists happened to be Oprah’s 2020 list of favorite things. Celebrities such as Selena Gomez, and Bella Hadid, and even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been seen with a Telfar bag in the past. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has shared to her social media followers everything she can fit in her Telfar bag.
Now, Telfar has a collaboration with UGG which was announced September of 2020, and the first release happened in June. Another release of the collaboration was just dropped a few days ago, where fans and new consumers will be able to find a wide range of items from the classic UGG boots with the Telfar logo, as well as the famous Telfar bags as fuzzy as UGG boots. Making all these items, not only essentials for this winter, but a great item to add to your holiday wish list or gift to a close one.
It is quite evident that Telfar Clemens’ brand will only continue to increase in popularity, and has set a new standard for the fashion industry to follow, one that should have been in place from before. Telfar’s inclusivity is what separates it from other luxury handbags and apparel. Who knows what will be the next collaboration or creation for Telfar in the near future, but it is safe to say that people will be raving about it.
Contact Priscilla at febuspri@shu.edu