How Telfar Became the Symbol of Black Wealth for Working-class Americans

Throughout fashion history, Black designers have constantly pushed the boundaries by thinking outside the box with their creative ideation and design execution. Dapper Dan comes to mind with his take on streetwear with his bold usage of existing luxury brands such as Gucci and Fendi. These brands were sold in the black mecca of Harlem in New York. His most iconic piece is a Louis Vuitton-inspired bomber jacket with statement puff sleeves.

Telfar, by Telfar Clemens, was established in 2005 in one of the biggest fashion capitals, New York. The company started gaining traction during the Pandemic - where as we know, shops were closed and we were subject to looking at four walls within our bedrooms, accompanied by the convenience of online shopping. This became the catalyst for Telfar’s growth as they strategically built the brand off the back of this nationwide lockdown that quickly came into effect.

With recognition from Solange Knowles and collaboration in the making with Gap Inc., Clemens drove to create his fashion label, without realising how iconic it will become in the following years.

Telfar set out for Pace University, after moving to Maryland with his family after escaping the Liberian Civil War. Being personally swayed to a more conventional path, he decided to study accounting at university, as opposed to following his creative streak that shone so brightly from a young age. With this not necessarily being his passion, Clemens decided to put more time and energy into designing oversized T-shirts by reconstructing them with thread and stitching - despite this not being revolutionary yet - Telfar managed to build up powerful connections which allowed him to successfully sell his designs in a clothing store owned by VICE magazine. This moment proved to be one of the biggest milestones for Clemens, which contributed to his company's success.

Shortly after, Telfar came up with his brand slogan: “It’s not for you. It’s for Everyone.” Behind this slogan was the representation of one of Clemen's core values - creating a luxury brand that has an emphasis on inclusivity, affordability and giving back to black culture; which is atypical for high fashion as the price points are never particularly pocket-friendly to the average working-class person - which was extremely strategic as the release of his ‘Shopping Bags,’ which have now become synonymous with black culture.

Having received the CFDA Fashion Vogue Award, which included a $400,000 cash prize - Clemens was at a crossroads - he could either put the majority of this money into his somewhat niche clothing line, a market that was already saturated by other designers or invest the money into the growing success of the Shopping Bags, creating a variety of sizes and colours.

Clemens decided to invest funds into his bag line. This accelerated the popularity of the brand as well as the exposure gained through his previous work and achievements. Around 2018, the signature shopping bag became viral - thanks to celebrity endorsements from Beyonce, Zoe Kravitz and Oprah - who expressed enthusiasm for the brand.

The success of the bag allowed Black Americans to purchase it without paying a hefty price tag. This is normally utilised as an exclusion tool by other brands to restrict who purchases their items. With inclusivity being a value that Clemens' brand represents, he launched the 'The Telfar Security Program,' with the premise being that you can request any bag, in any colour and size, and it will be specially crafted for you with guaranteed purchase and delivery. By taking advantage of this clever buying and marketing strategy, all customers were able to get their hands on a bag that they were not necessarily able to reach through the normal drop, where you can be notified by email when the drop occurs.

There was also an environmental element - as only the number of bags requested was made and available for purchase, unlike mass-production factories, which allowed the company to save materials and limit the costs of labour and production.

The advertisements that Telfar use to promote a drop are mostly a selection of compiled videos from TikTok, representing Black popular culture and the community showing ingenious ways in which they use their bags - from using it to keep a chest of drawers closed to a comedic skit of someone putting a halo on one of the Telfar wallets, with it shining brightly once removed from one of the iconic shopping bags - the creativity and authenticity of these ads are beautifully portrayed by the Black community and truly embodies the significance of the bag within black popular culture.

With Clemens becoming a trailblazer within the Black fashion sphere, he continues to build upon his brand and constantly conjures up innovative ways to keep his diverse audience attracted to his brand, which has already demonstrated the potential to make luxury and affordability fall into the same category.