One of my favorite shows, that I’ve now watched two times in its entirety, is HBO’s Insecure. Issa Rae’s character, Issa Dee, carried her Telfar Shopping Bag, which became her ubiquitous handbag on this latest season of the hit HBO show. Shiona Turini, costume designer for Insecure, makes it a priority to support Black designers, not only those that are established but also emerging brands who receive a big hit for placement on an HBO show.
The Telfar Shopping Bag made its way into shows and on the arms of celebs, but the real appreciation for the brand comes from the fans. Telfar Clemens is a 35 year-old Liberian-American fashion designer who calls Bushwick, Brooklyn the base for his namesake label, Telfar. Clemens has said many times that he wants his popular vegan bag to be accessible. After winning the 2017 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, Clemens used the money to relaunch his Shopping Bag. He perfected the design, and wanted to make larger quantities available, as even three years ago the bags would sell out immediately. The idea behind the bag is that it’s unisex, any kind of person can wear it, and it’s both practical and accessible. While celebrities love the bag, the Telfar Shopping Bag also quickly became the go-to baby bag of NYC Downtown art moms. The bag has even been dubbed the Bushwick Birkin.
Over the past three years, the hype surrounding Telfar’s now famous Shopping Bag has grown exponentially. If you check the comment section of the brand’s Instagram posts, you will see thousands of people clamoring for information on the next drop, begging to be sent texts or called on a megaphone so they don’t miss out, and many complaining that even though they checked the minute they received the restock email, the bags were already sold. It’s become a frustrating game for many. One Instagram commenter said “Giving me heart attack and heartbreak with every upload”. That comment was echoed by many. Though the brand will drop hints, there is never a specific date or time given when a restock will occur. Your best chance is signing up for restock emails on each bag you are interested in.
This morning, I started getting emails in my inbox saying a handful of the bags I had my eye on were restocked. I happened to be on my computer the second the email came through for 4 of the bags I put my name on the list for restock notices. Within 30 seconds of receiving the email, I was on the Telfar site, but much to my dismay I merely saw ‘Sold Out’, instead of the ‘Add to Cart’ I was hoping for. It happened again, and again, and again, and again. When I went to Telfar’s Instagram page, it seems the same happened for others there as well. Twitter is filled with pretty hilarious Tweets paired with GIFs over people either scoring or missing out on a Telfar bag (at the time of this article’s publishing, the term Telfar is trending on Twitter).
Being so highly sought after that you can’t keep bags in stock is a good problem to have, to an extent. While it means you have a highly engaged audience, it also means you may run into the problem of frustrating people into giving up over the lack of ability to find your product. Telfar updated its fans in the afternoon today, after a morning restock, that they needed to close down their shop to rid the bots looking to purchase bags, stating “Telfar is for the people, not the bots”. Telfar’s success has only skyrocketed as more consumers are looking to support Black-owned businesses. Clemens is up for the CFDA American Accessories Designer of the Year award this year as well (in an otherwise majority white selection).
At a time when social justice and anti-racism are receiving the long-overdue attention they deserve, a brand like Telfar has become one of the most sought after bag brands of this time, not only for the easy style of the bag but also the brand’s ethos. Telfar breaks into an industry that’s often reserved for the white, rich, and thin allowing the target customer to truly be anyone. The inclusivity is one that transcends the interviews and talk, as Telfar showcases real customers on its social media channels to bring visibility of a vastly diverse community to life. Many brands leave customers feeling sidelined, as they don’t fit the typical mold of who the brand associates with and highlights, but Telfar has made this two-way symbiotic relationship part of its brand DNA and it shows in the fandom and excitement over the products being shared.
At the bottom of each restock email I received from the brand, was this text:
TELFAR is a black owned, genderless fashion project founded in 2005 in an apartment in LeFrak City, Queens.
Over the years we have given tens of thousands of dollars to bail our people off Rikers Island and collaborated with Black Lives Matter among others.
We will continue to do this — and so should you. Please give to Black Lives Matter, Anti Police-Terror Project, The Bail Project, Emergency Response Bail Fund, and the Black Visions Collective.
But donations are not the frontlines. For us, what is crucial is that everything else we do continues to be about building community and envisioning a future that has what it takes to destroy the present.
The bag itself is available in a range of colors and three different sizes: small, medium and large. The strap length on each is 21 inches. The small bag is a compact get out and go bag, the medium can fit a 13″ laptop, and the large is a great weekend trip bag or daily hauler. Each bag is crafted from vegan leather and features Telfar’s T logo front and center.
If you’re interested in a Telfar bag, the advice the brand gives is to add your email to ‘Notify Me’ on every bag you are interested in at its website here. Also be sure to check Telfar’s social media for hints on upcoming potential drops.
The only place I found where you can pre-order bags (however, these won’t stock until November), is LUISAVIAROMA. You can get your name on the list for a nice selection of bags on LUISAVIAROMA here.
Lol.. your Trump 2020 says it all.
The reality is – uneducated, narrow-minded and nazi people like you are destroying this country. Wait… you’ve already destroyed it.
by the way, what’s your real name? Karen, is it you?
I do not see from pictures anything remarkable in this handbag design. The design is a well-known handbag structure, that is all.
I love handbags, I collect handbags and I am always looking for a design that is new, that solves our new and old needs for using a handbag and also that could offer a beautiful tridimendional lines to contain and transport our items around. I wondered what is the key, the attraction of this specific design in that context. I do not see anything remarkable.
I am not sure if we can or should distinguish between a piece of art and the artist (who the artist is and what is supporting).
When I choose a handbag for my collection, I am evaluating the piece, the design in the handbag history, the quality of the leather and manufacture, and if it would fit in my needs but I try to put a bit aside who is the designer (often is not that easy ti forget). Finally, I decide to buy a handbag, I am going to buy a piece of art, not the artist and his or her way to understand life. Supporting causes or action is something else, I will do it aside.
First off, art is subjective. Secondly, just because you can’t see the beauty in this piece doesn’t mean it doesn’t represent something. To me it tells a story about classism and the tastelessness of the luxury world. This bag represents an iconic Bloomingdale’s shopping bag at an accessible price. The shopping tote design is everywhere right now from LV to Dior.
Louis Vuitton makes ugly pieces all the time that are sold out. They play the supply and demand game. People fall in love with the back story of Chanel and that romanticized story makes people lust over some bags that some would say are boring. So how is this designer any different? They have a story they want to tell through their iconic bag.
Obviously you can’t relate to it because it is coming from a black perspective but don’t school people on art just because you can’t relate to it.
You bring up interesting points. We’re definitely influenced by brands and by extension we are influenced by designers/artists/stylists. Over time if I consistently like the work from a particular designer/artist then I will be influenced to consider their product over someone else’s.
PF readers are knowledgable of individual designers and brand creative directors. When Silmane took over at Celine the negative feedback on his designs bordered on outrage.
In the photos above these bags don’t look well made. Might be the affect of the materials or the photo quality. The embossed graphic is interesting. Would I buy one? Depends on how they look in person. I’m not concerned about the ethnicity of the person who designed it or the ethnicity person who made it (unlike many PB’ers who refuse to buy anything made in China). To be blunt, I’m not going to buy or reject something solely based on the designer’s ethnicity. Ultimately I have to like the product.
On occasion I’ll buy something that funds a charity, but that’s different.
ABSOLUTELY!!!
Well said! That is exactly what I was thinking when I posted. I can and will support the cause by donating money, but I don’t need to buy the bag, which lacks personality, etc., in order to make a statement.
Yes! I do not believe it’s marked that a proceed of each bag goes to these causes, it’s just something the brand shares on its site and in emails, that they are supporters of those causes and have donated as a brand.
The bags are really simple, but have become very popular. People are calling it the Bushwick Birkin which I think is clever and shows it’s a statement must-have bag right now. I saw Sonja Morgan carrying it on RHONY a bunch this season as well!
probably gifted, and now she looks less like the “white, rich, thin” woman?
I love this bag so I’m so glad you made a post on it! I’m DYING to get my hands on one!
I’ve been trying to get a black one in medium for a little more than 2 years now!
They have their bag security program going on right now which ends tomorrow…pre order and get as many as you want! In any color!
Ha! I want the same exact one! Bag twins, hope we both get one!
Did you see it’s on Luisaviaroma? I have the link at the bottom of the post. You can pre-order now for November delivery. It’s a wait, but they have the black one you both want : https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2261907-10617612?sid=pb_072320_telfar&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.luisaviaroma.com%2Fen-us%2Fshop%2Fwomen%2Ftelfar%3Flvrid%3D_gw_dhli%26aka_re%3D1
I’ll take a look! Thank you!
Me too! I am waiting for the restock still 🙂
Same
Very cool.
I wish I was 1/5 as stylish as the models in this campaign.
Me too!
Fun fact: the woman in the second image with the blue lipstick, black leather jacket and black mini Telfar bag around her neck is Lauryn Hill’s daughter, Selah Marley! Granddaughter of Bob Marley.
She is beautiful… and so cool!
I totally see Lauren Hill now that I read your post.
Very pretty
I know! Seeing the models in his shows, campaigns, and even the brand’s fans makes me want to chance up my look!
Oh puleese….
You have made your. point all over this blog and you have the right to make your opinion(s) known, without censorship. Megs also has the right to state her opinion, without mockery. I don’t know her, but maybe she has been interested in changing her look and this was exactly the style she was looking to emulate. I see her as a leader and not as a haphazard follower. For instance, she created this blog whereas before, to my knowledge, there was nothing.
IKR? I can see why she’s in EVERY.SINGLE.COMMENT. because where else would she spew all that without getting dragged and cancelled?
I don’t get these people at all. Being black is a LIVED experience. If that’s not you as a person of color, it is NOT your experience, and you can’t tell us how to feel about it. PERIOD.
Okaaayyy Karen…
Yeah, talk about followers and people who jump on the bandwagon. Oh puleese. Yawn.
Meh. Not feeling it.
Meh.
I TOTALLY AGREE. Such a bunch of social justice “followers.”
Hey Sandy does the “K” in your name stand for Karen by any chance? Do you need to speak to the manager of Telfar?
Right? This blog is full of a bunch of entitled out of touch Baby Boomers crying about how ethnicity doesn’t matter. These are the same people spending thousands of $$ on bags that are made in China but finished in France just so that they can feel good about their bag being stamped “made in France”. Why are they so mad about the recognition of a black owned business? If ethnicity didn’t matter we wouldn’t care what country the handbags we buy are made in.
Do you have something to say about Stella McCartney who also “green washes”.
Sustainably is the trend of the future. Most of the luxury brands have already jumped on this bandwagon. Do you have anything to say about that? Thanks for your opinion. Your ignorance is showing.
What does that mean?
Faux outrage & “guilty” white people, hon. Hoping “being on your side” will save them.
And what is wrong with that?
Followers aren’t leaders, hon. More jump on the faux outrage bandwagon. A lot of that going on lately.
I respect their mission statement, but the bag doesn’t appeal to me. Unfortunately, all I see is: “e.T.”…like the movie.
I see eT in the logo as well! It doesn’t bother me that it’s eT, but that’s how I see it too!
How much are these bags?
They are in the $200-$250 range.
Thanks for spotlighting this bag, Meg! Even though I personally am not a fan, Telfar is absolutely MAKING WAVES on social media lately! Great to see a black-owned brand like this get such overwhelming support…and I hope we can continue to spread the love (aka $$) amongst other higher-end black handbag designers!
Any other brands I should check out? Do let me know!
i would rather donate directly tbh. there’s no design here.
In an interview he said he modeled the bag after a Bloomingdale’s shopping bag, hence it’s pretty simple!
It looks like a solid, functional and stylish bag. I’m always drawn to that silhouette in a handbag.
I like the variety of colors and the soft squishy leather . I’d buy one. The green is very pretty.
I’ve followed you for years and have appreciated your love of bags and I’m happy to see the spotlight on Telfar but tbh this is so late. When you didn’t even include it in your initial round up of Black brands let alone devote any recognition of the brand prior to this moment, I really realized how out of touch this blog and its audience is. Take a moment and think about why you overlooked Telfar for so long.
My spotlight on Black-owned handbag brands was in 2 parts. Telfar was in my second part.
We have found over the years that while many readers want the most-known handbag fashion houses to be covered, there have been more and more readers who want to discover new brands. When I share a brand, sometimes I am discovering them far later than you but earlier than the next person. Sometimes, I get used to looking at the same brands and am used to many readers wanting to hear about bags from the same brands.
I will do a better job searching for more handbag brands that include a wide range of founders from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and races.
“backgrounds, ethnicities, and races” should play no part in handbags
You sound so out of touch with reality, Susan.
It’s not your fault because you’ve been tucked far away in a nice suburb somewhere in your white bubble protected from the real world. But you need to wake up. Backgrounds, ethnicities and races have played an integral part in our world history and the present day construct that we currently live. It’s shaped our ENTIRE world.
I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable for you but it’s reality.
Some races have even used other races to get grow their society and get ahead. I’m sorry that a spotlight on a black, vegan, unisex brand makes you feel so opinionated but that’s what’s hot right now and it has the right to be spotlighted so kindly shut the fuck up and allow this one black designer from queens to enjoy the opportunity they have finally been given.
I think most of us know the answer…
What’s fascinating about this is that even if that IS the reason, they are buying something to support a cause, in their mind. That’s what they are doing with their time and $. You, by contrast, are getting outraged by something somebody wants to buy…talk about a trivial obsession.
kudos to Telfar but i’m not a huge fan of this bag. I think what grinds my gears more if the green washing (if I can call it that) of “Vegan leather”. It’s just PU which doesn’t scream quality to me compared to your average bag from Target or Aldo
Do you have something to say about Stella McCartney who also “green washes”.
Sustainably is the trend of the future. Most of the luxury brands have already jumped on this bandwagon. Do you have anything to say about that? Thanks for your opinion. Your ignorance is showing.
Good price point and like the logo, but the fabric is looks shiny in the pics and the seams don’t appear to lay flat or take a crisp edge because of the faux leather. If you’re into the vegan thing, great — go for it. But to my eyes, it’s a lot of money for what is basically a recycled plastic bag.
Ok so their shop is closed. I can’t even view anything. What are they made of and where are they made?
These bags might be meh for some people but not everyone plans their outfit around a bag. This is the kind of bag that shows off your clothes and not taking the center of attention. I love it!
Ok where to start ? First of all she doesn’t even have a great style to start with. Episodes of that I watched she looks like a high school student experimenting on what clothes might look great.
She is not In sex and the city and everyone adores her style.
The bags are basic like basic tote .
And somehow we’re going to buy her stuff … why? She’s African American and we need to have privilege guilt or something ?
I had no privilege growing up even thou I looked white . No one gave me scholarship because of my decent . No one handed me anything to have this privilege guilt. So I don’t need to support any companies out of guilt. How about stop using your platform to sell people crap ?
Also blm supports Democratic Party directly. When you go to donate on their page it basically goes directly to blue party. If you read what they support it has no mention of ending police brutality or helping black communities . People need to educate themselves what blm really means .
The lead designer at Telfar is a “he.” And your last sentence should read “…people need to educate themselves and learn about what BLM really means…” If your plan was to drag the brand and whoever supports it by buying their “…basic like basic tote…” bags, at least get the pronouns and grammar right.
Vaness, you nailed it!!! Especially the (white) guilt and privilege. Personally I WILL NOT support any company or institution that contributes to BLM (the “organization”) for exactly the reasons you mention. Gave up a few stores and memberships to major museums already. My “white privilege and fragility” will spend $$$ elsewhere. Plenty of organizations that aren’t shady.
Isn’t this “limited stock / sold out” the newest oldest-trick-in-the-book to generate attention? From this article it seems the key measure of desirability is scarcity. I disagree.
The embossed logo looks like Gucci soho.
OMG, I just hope the young woman pictured in the very first photo hangs on to that image and then looks at it on her 50th birthday. The chances are probably 99.9999% that she will look at that photo and say to herself, good Lord, I was young and ravishingly beautiful and I dressed like THAT??!! What was I thinking??!!!!
I know! I think most people look back at their younger self and laugh at their hair style, clothing, etc. I know I had a few “what was I thinking moments”.
Thanks Megs for introducing me to this brand. It reminds me of the old days of East London Fashion tribes when Hoxton-ites were running the underground Fashion Scene (circa 2007) and everyone secretly wanted to look cool like them. I’m all for the Vegan Leather and I think the bags are pretty rad, so I’ll be jumping on their wait list.
I don’t like this bag. Very boring in my opinion.