Telfar Clemens On The 20th Anniversary Of Telfar: 'We Would Love Our Legacy To Be An Alternative Model For Cultural Sovereignty'

Forbes

07-07-2025

Courtesy of Fast Company
On one of New York's first sweltering days of the summer, Telfar Clemens chose to mark a milestone in a unconventional way: with an off-calendar fashion show. This wasn't the first time the brand had deviated from the traditional fashion calendar; Clemens's last two 'shows' also broke with convention, eschewing the typical runway structure. This time, however, the designer was celebrating a particularly significant occasion: the 20th anniversary of his eponymous label, Telfar.
To commemorate the milestone, Clemens staged an outdoor fashion show in a New York alley at the crossroads of Cortlandt and Walker Street. The location, unpolished but still touched with Telfar's essence, as his white and neutral-toned tank tops hung on clotheslines from building to building looming above the audience.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Models walks the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion ... More Show on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
Founded in 2005 during Clemens' time as a student at Pace University, Telfar was slow to rise but flew into cultural consciousness a decade later with its now-iconic shopping bag also known as the "Brooklyn Birkin." The simple, vegan leather tote, embossed with the brand's logo, became a symbol of accessibility and inclusivity. This message was underscored by the brand's slogan, 'It's not for you— it's for everyone.' Its rapid rise cemented Clemens' position as a revolutionary figure in fashion, and for a long time Telfar, the brand and the person, became synonymous with 'New York Cool.'
Beyond the bag, Clemens' designs have consistently explored themes of gender, identity, and Americana aesthetics—subjects that have shaped his career from the outset. As early as 2010, he introduced his ForMale collection, which challenged conventional notions of masculinity and played with the performance of gender. Over time, these themes became central to his work, evolving in complexity but always staying true to their core.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Models walk the runway during the 2025 Telfar Fashion Show at Telfar ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by)
In the two decades since Telfar Clemens founded his brand, he has transformed from an emerging designer into a cultural force. Along the way, he has won a CFDA Award for American Accessories Designer of the Year in 2021 , designed the uniforms for the 2021 Liberian Olympic team, and launched Telfar TV, a 24-hour network and channel. Also, he opened a flagship store on Canal Street, collaborated with White Castle to design their uniforms, and created costumes for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter and Renaissance tours. Now, after two decades, Clemens chose to commemorate it all in the most fitting way: with a show staged in the very New York streets where his name and brand were built.
The runway date, one of the longest days of the year, thanks to the summer solstice, and every hour that the show ran late (2.5 hours, to be exact), was felt. During the 1.5 hour mark of lateness, Telfar's casting director Jorge Gitoo Wright, came out to warm up the already very warm crowd. "If you think we're late, we're not. We're on time, bitch!'
Of course, with Telfar, there's always a twist. With this initial runway show, he introduced an initiative of 'New Models,' a casting search of new faces, done by a voting system akin to Love Island, where if you watched the show, or the casting call via Telfar TV, you got to vote for your favorite model.
Tommiana, a newly cast "new model" in the show, recalls, 'Having recently left a corporate job, I suddenly found myself with more free time. It felt like the perfect opportunity to focus on myself, so I decided to take a leap and attend the casting call. I was really nervous because it was my first one ever, and I wanted to make the best impression.'
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Model walks the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion Show ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
Before the casting, he remembers the scene clearly: 'The line was already wrapped around the block. But luckily, a friend of mine was already there, so I joined him. The Telfar team was scouting for new models up and down the line, looking for all kinds of fresh faces. I overheard Jay from the Telfar team asking if there were any dancers, and without thinking twice, I jumped in and said, 'I dance!''
According to Tommiana, after the casting segment, 'They let us know that people at home would decide, and we got to mingle with the crowd in the store,' he says. 'It was so powerful for Telfar to use his platform to showcase this 'new model' of what fashion is and what it looks like. It was all about Queer and POC liberation."
A week after the casting, Tommiana stayed prepared by working out, when he received an email with details for the new models show, along with media to post on social media to promote himself and encourage people to vote. 'I plastered it everywhere,' he says. 'I had my entire community spread the word, and they did! When the live broadcast of the show went down, I felt so much love. I could just see how cool the entire thing was. At that point, I didn't even care about winning,I was just happy to be part of it. But I still wondered if I'd won.'
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Model walks the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion Show ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
The next day, he received an email confirming he was cast. When he arrived at the studio, he was greeted by "none other than Telfar and casting director Jorge Gitoo Wright, who made the entire process feel so easy," welcoming him 'with open arms.'
"Im so grateful to the Telfar team and I am so proud of them. I can't wait to see what the next 20 years hold for Telfar because I know it's revolutionary, he's always been," Tommiana says.
Below, we caught up with Telfar Clemens and Telfar's creative director Babak Radboy about 20 years of Telfar.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Models walk the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion Show ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
As Telfar approaches its 20-year mark, how have your priorities evolved in building and sustaining a namesake brand, especially one that has consistently chosen to operate outside traditional fashion systems?
We couldn't have foreseen the challenges that come with 'success.' This happens on many different levels. Being able to realize that scale and profit may not be synonymous with success is important.Looking back to its inception, what values or strategies have remained central, and which have transformed most dramatically over time?
Our independence and desire to determine the social use of our work are the center of what we do. That hasn't changed.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Models walk the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion Show ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
One of the more unconventional choices Telfar has made is opting out of the traditional fashion calendar. What informed that decision, and what do you feel is gained—or even lost—by showing on your own terms?
Well its funny to say this to Forbes — but the fashion system is financially small but culturally a very potent front of western supremacy. It's understandable that people feel they deserve recognition there in Paris or NYFW — of course they do. But the power to grant recognition is what needs to be questioned. we felt we should rely on our own community directly instead. Those choices were huge risks and they have given us so much freedom.This show felt like a culmination, a celebration of Telfar's multitudes. From the nods to Americana and lifestyle aesthetics to the way you wove together so many different subcultures and eras of the brand, it made clear that Telfar isn't for one particular person, but for everyone. As you assembled these looks, from the opener to the finale, what did that process reveal to you about the legacy you've built so far, and where you feel compelled to take it next?
We decided we would cast the people who mean the most to us and who were there the longest — along with their families and our families as our models. We wanted to ground ourselves because the scale of things the last few years has created some alienation for us. In general we've been strategically shrinking things down to a scale where you can actually feel something.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 21: Models walk the runway during the Telfar 20th Anniversary Fashion Show ... More on June 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Udo)
With New Models, you opened the runway to your community in a way that was natural for Telfar. How did the idea of involving your viewers in such a direct way come about? You've consistently reimagined what a fashion show can be, but what is it about featuring new faces and real people that continues to feel essential to the brand's DNA? Well, New Models is a model search show but it's not really about fashion models - it's about cultural models. Social and political models. It's really about how the model we have all experienced the last decade - the model of 'representation' is killing us. We need a model of collective agency. So we basically started a modeling agency. Obviously.When you think about the long arc of Telfar, beyond trends, beyond product drops, what kind of legacy do you hope the brand leaves behind? What do you want people to say not just about what Telfar made, but what it stood for?
We would love our legacy to be an alternative model for cultural sovereignty- so you know, write for Forbes or whatever it takes — but have an exit strategy and bring others with you.