One month after its French colleague Jacquemus inaugurated its New York flagship, it was Telfar’s turn to cut the ribbon for a new kind of hybrid boutique in the Soho district. For this ex-pure player, long confined to e-commerce sales, this opening reinforces its proximity to its clientele as well as to its African-American and LGBTQIA+ community.
The fear of “luxury fatigue” portrayed by the head of Chanel Horlogerie-joaillerie, and the question of excessive price hikes by certain Maisons, are on everyone’s lips. But there is one who has always made his luxury brand a haven for minorities, with highly desirable products at affordable prices.
True to the motto of his House, which he founded in 2005, Telfar Clemens, an African-American stylist with an avowed homosexuality, offers a physical boutique at the intersection of Canal Street and Broadway , designed “not for you, but for everyone”.
A pioneer of black entrepreneurship in fashion, he was eight years ahead of the launch of the equally New York label Pyer Moss by his compatriot Kerby Jean Raymond. The founder of Telfar, with his iconic tote bag priced at under $300, is an inspiration to many.
More than a boutique, a community manifesto
For its very first Brick & Mortar address, inaugurated on November 23 – the day of Black Friday – Telfar Clemens opted for the former premises occupied by OMG Jeans between the 1990s and early 2000s in the Soho district.
Based at 408 Broadway, Telfar’s flagship offers an extensive collection of fashion and accessories over 900 sq. m (10,000 sq. ft.) of immaculate walls and chrome details. The brand has all the hallmarks of a luxury brand, minus the price tag and condescension: “I want people to feel free. And you don’t have to buy anything,” said its founder on the sidelines of the inauguration.
Although the brand’s viral success is unquestionable, since its creation in 2005, the unisex-style brand has offered limited-edition launches exclusively on its e-commerce site, using the drops system familiar to streetwear kings such as Supreme.
Telfar Clemens told the New York Post that this opening marks a turning point in the New York brand’ s distribution and communications strategy. “You have to try on real clothes in person. But stores for the rest of us don’t exist,” he also told Highsnobiety magazine. “So we had to build them.”
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Read also > Jacquemus and the United States, a love story of reason
Featured Photo: © Telfar
