Telfar: Timeless or Trendy?

Graphic by Molly Van Gorp.

From A$AP Ferg to AOC, it seems like everyone owns a Telfar bag. The boxy bag—draped in vegan leather, and embossed with the iconic monogram of an overlapping “T” and “C”—is an ode to CEO Telfar Clemens that can be spotted from miles away. The Telfar bag made its debut in 2005 but did not truly take off until 2020, where it has remained the unrivaled “it” bag. 

With a motto like “Not for you—for everyone,” it’s easy to see why the Telfar has become the “peoples bag.” Telfar bags come in three sizes—small, medium and large—and range from $150 to$257. Though not inexpensive Telfar bags are recognized as being much more affordable than other luxury bags easily retailing for thousands of dollars.  

That being said, Telfar bags are infamously hard to come by. Though the Telfar website does undergo weekly bag restocks, the bags always sell out within minutes. Not only is it difficult just to obtain a bag, but because not every colorway drops each week, Telfar fanatics will often find themselves waiting weeks to buy the specific bag they want. 

According to Clair, Rebag’s luxury appraisal index, Telfar bags are reselling at 195% of their retail value. This puts the coveted bag at an exponentially higher resale value than any other luxury bag. But what makes this bag so desirable? Is being a good investment enough of a reason to warrant the “Telfeezy craze” or is this just another example of conspicuous consumption? 

The rise in the popularity of the bag could be warranted to the famous faces, such as Bella Hadid, Lil Nas X and Zoe Kravitz, who are  often spotted toting a Telfar bag on their shoulder. Many celebrities, such as Oprah and Beyoncé, have even go so far as to  publicly endorse Telfar. 

In “Summer Renaissance,” the last song on Beyoncé’s latest album, Renaissance, Beyoncé name drops Telfar, singing “This Telfar bag imported / Birkins, them s—t’s in storage / I’m in my bag.” Confirmed by The RealReal to Page Six Style, Telfar saw an 85% increase in website traffic the day Beyoncé’a album, and that one liner, dropped.

In 2020, Oprah revealed that her cream Telfar bag earned a spot on her “annual list of favorite things.” Not only does Oprah appreciate the practicality of the bag, stating that, “it’s the perfect size for work or weekend. … who wouldn’t love the shoulder straps and top handles?” But Oprah placed a heavy emphasis on supporting black owned businesses, such as Telfar. 

Telfar Clemens is a queer, slef-taught designer, hailing from Queens New York, with a Liberian American background. From the start of his fashion house in 2005, Clemens always emphasized making sure his products were truly inclusive by focusing on unisex designs that anyone would feel comfortable wearing. 

Although the reasons for Telfar’s hype may be a mystery, numbers don’t lie. Some are buying to support a more inclusive fashion industry, while others might just want to dress like their favorite celebrities. Nevertheless, Telfar has already rewritten, and continues to rewrite, the status quo around luxury goods.The question now is whether or not Clemens can maintain this growth or if Telfar will be immortalized as a fad of the 2020’s.