After a two-year wait, cult indie label Telfar is opening its first permanent store.
The 20-year-old brand’s sprawling 10,000-square-foot store, located in New York’s SoHo neighbourhood, will be the only place in the world where shoppers can buy the full range of its popular totes, nicknamed the “Bushwick Birkin,” year round. (The brand typically releases new bags online through a drop model). The outpost will also house a television studio where customers can broadcast live videos of themselves on an LED screen at the store’s entrance.
The location will open on Nov. 23 with a celebration event, where fans can compete in an open mic contest for the chance to win a free bag. A secret new bag will also be unveiled at the event.
The store’s arrival is two years in the making — designer Telfar Clemens announced his intention to open a permanent brick-and-mortar store in 2022 after a one-day pop-up at the low-cost retailer Rainbow in Downtown Brooklyn during New York Fashion Week. The opening of a permanent location marks the latest initiative in a broader growth strategy. In October, Telfar launched its first line of real leather bags — its totes have historically been made of its signature vegan leather — to give shoppers a more elevated option. The Carry, a pebble leather version of its classic tote, is priced four times higher than its vegan options ($523 versus $150), and debuted at the brand’s pop-up boutique in Selfridges in London and will also be available at the New York store.
The studio in Telfar’s store is an extension of Telfar TV — the 24-hour streaming network the brand launched in 2021 — and a likely catnip for Gen-Z consumers who expect stores to be more than a curated assortment of products on shelves. Telfar TV has served as a channel to announce new bag releases and a tool to build community among the brand’s most loyal consumers. The brand will use the in-store studio to shoot content for a variety show that will be aired on Telfar TV, featuring new collections, interviews, performances and interactions with customers.
Learn more:
Telfar to Launch Real Leather Bags
The brand, known for its perpetually sold-out “Bushwick Birkin” totes made from vegan leather, is launching a range of pebble leather bags, priced as high as $960.
