Telfar Clemens has always done things his own way. Whether he’s disrupting traditional buying and pricing models or building a flagship store in Soho and creating his own TV station, the designer has been a beacon of community in the independent fashion scene. Over the weekend, following a years-long hiatus, Clemens took to the streets of New York City to make a grand return to the runway.
At the show, the support and love was crystal clear. Fans, friends, family, and industry insiders all came flocking to the alleyway behind the boutique on the hottest day of the year. Whispers rippled through the crowd as Solange Knowles stepped out from the store and into her seat. Electric hand-held fans and water bottles were passed around and the crowd was rife with anticipation. Clemens briefly popped out to thank everyone for coming, applaud any true fashion fan who snuck into a front-row seat, and lovingly let us know “We’re not late, you are.”
Two hours rolled past and the sun began to set between the buildings, casting a dramatic light across the wooden shutters and Telfar-filled clotheslines that were strung up between the buildings. The ambiance alone was enough to romanticize this uniquely New York experience. My phone ticked to 8:15, the stands filled even further with latecomers and excited passersby, and finally, the show kicked off.
True to the Telfar spirit, the presentation overturned expectations of a traditional runway event. The cast was filled with people who came directly from the brand’s community. (An open casting call culminated in a public vote in an episode titled “New Models” on the Telfar television platform.)
Any preconceived notion of single-file, stoic struts was immediately dismissed. Models walked at awkward, but purposeful, paces, sometimes in rapid strides, sometimes with a slow and sultry attitude (Fellow designer Raul Lopez of Luar donned a baby-blue look and booked it with the power of ’90s Shalom Harlow). Some were in a coordinated drove, and others walked waving with their family and toddlers in tow. The spectacle was an impressive feat, amounting to almost 200 people celebrating the brand down the alleyway.
Every look garnered a vocal cheer. The clothes felt like logical continuations of the subverted silhouettes for which Telfar is known. Contrast ribbed tanks, “I Heart New York”-inspired prints, and multi-use skirt/tank tops made up the core of the collection. The runway also furthered the brand’s “fits all” denim, which launched earlier this spring. Skinny jeans, ’70s-style jumpsuits, and denim midi skirts paraded down the catwalk in deep indigo hues. Elsewhere, logo jelly sandals appeared in a myriad of colors, just in time for the minimalist footwear wave.
The standout remained the accessories. The brand once won fame for its shopping bag, birthed in 2014 and later dubbed “the Bushwick Birkin.” Though Clemens has said he doesn’t love the term, during the height of its popularity—and before the label’s innovative bag security program—it was almost as difficult to acquire as a Birkin, too. The brand has since expanded its silhouettes, offering duffels and a “Dumpling Bag.” However, this time Clemens delved into the shopping-bag riff even further, debuting a deli-inspired Plastic Bag. Any true New Yorker saw their own iconography reflected back at them, which is what makes Telfar’s designs so resilient.
Twenty years in, Telfar can draw a crowd, an exuberantly fashionable one at that. All things considered, Telfar once again proved that good things are certainly worth the wait.
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