With drops that sell out in minutes to even mere seconds, you may be wondering what exactly sparked the immense popularity Telfar has today. These well known designer bags are not only high quality, they’re also affordable compared to other designers in the category. As of this year, more and more people are trying to get their hands on one of these staple bags, which can often take a couple weeks of trying.
Telfar Shopping Bags come in small, medium, and large, with a slight price increase with every size jump. The brand also produces products such as beanies, apparel, jewelry and more. The Shopping Bags come in every color imaginable. Due to the high demand for these bags, many customers have found themselves receiving notice that the bag in their shopping cart is sold out, as they are placing their order.
The History of Telfar
Telfar was originally founded in 2005 by queer Liberian-American designer Telfar Clemens. The brand has a genderless aesthetic, with products being targeted toward people of all genders. Clemens is an advocate for inclusivity, which is a key part of the brand itself. Their emphasis on accessibility can be seen in their bag prices, which typically range from $150 to $257 depending on the size.
Although Telfar was founded in 2005, it took years for it to receive attention in the industry. Despite an emphasis on unisex and genderless fashion today, Telfar has been doing this far before it was a movement. Their runway shows since their founding have included people of all genders and races.
In 2014, Telfar began to produce their small, medium, and large Shopping Bags, which caused the brand to blow up. People loved that they could purchase a high quality bag from a Black-owned business at an affordable price. A few years later in 2017, Telfar Clemens was awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Award, giving him $400,000 to invest in the brand. This award was essentially the catalyst for celebrities to start wearing the bags, which vastly increased their popularity amongst consumers.
Telfar Today
Especially over the past year, Telfar’s popularity has skyrocketed. The brand has even received backlash due to how quickly many of their products sell out on the website. Customers looking to secure a Shopping Bag are forced to check out the minute a drop is released. Due to the competitive nature of acquiring one of the bags, they resell for way above their original price on websites such as Poshmark and The Real Real. Telfar even came out with a 24-hour Security Bag Program in 2020 that allowed people to essentially pre-order and guarantee their purchase due to the high demand.
As the brand has grown, they have had some incredibly notable collaborations with other brands. Most recently, they released their collaboration with Ugg, which includes shopping bags, shoes, and apparel. They have also produced collaborations with Moose Knuckles and Converse.
Over the past few years, more and more celebrities have been spotted sporting the infamous Telfar Shopping Bags. From models such as Bella Hadid showing off her Telfar bag on a day out in NYC to stars such as Lil Nas X wearing his Telfar to an awards show, the bags have been proven to be versatile.
As genderless fashion becomes more popular, Telfar is continuing to make strides in the fashion industry. What are your thoughts on Telfar? Tweet us, @VALLEYmag, on Twitter!
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