Telfar Clemens’ fans can now get their Shopping Bags this Wednesday after the “Bushwick Birkin” bags sold out insanely fast July 23 due to bots inundating the site for the purpose of reselling the bags at a higher price. The unfair competition resulted in consumers missing out on an opportunity to purchase bags at the retail price.
Clemens later revealed on his Instagram story that, indeed, bots had been responsible for the quick sellout.
People took to social media to speak out against the foul play, noting that the resale market could have a negative impact on both the designer and his fans. And Clemens announced a solution.
Exploiting small Black businesses — like purchasing bulk orders of @TELFARGLOBAL using bots to resell and make it more difficult for Black women to access affordable Black luxury items — is not supporting Black business.
— B.L.A.C.C. (@buyBLACC) July 23, 2020
Telfar has introduced the Telfar Bag Security Program, a program designed so that the product is more accessible to the community. The program guarantees secure payment and delivery between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15, 2021. Refunds are not available.
On Wednesday, Telfar will offer every size and color of the “Bushwick Birkin” for 24 hours only, but they ask customers only buy the bags that they need. Ordering starts at midnight ET.
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A statement on the Telfar website announced, “We are doing this so that there is a way to guarantee you your bag without you having to deal with the stress of drops. We will continue to do drops and are working on getting more and more product — but this is a way to both support us, buy direct, and GUARANTEE yourself a bag — even if you have to wait for it.”
Telfar itself is a black-owned, non-gendered fashion project that was founded in 2004. The It bag designed by Telfar Clemens in 2014 has become an inspirational success story within the fashion community. Telfar’s fan base has grown within communities of color. The bag retails between $150 and $257.
“There was nothing like it in that category before and the customer didn’t exist, so I decided to make the shopping bag that everyone carries but put my name on it,” the Black designer told FN in January at Pitti Uomo.
Following his much-hyped spring collaboration with Converse, Clemens is launching his own line of footwear for fall ‘20.
Two styles, a loafer and a riding-meets-Western boot come in black and brown and feature his TC logo as a cutout. In the case of the boot, you can hold them like a handle, much as you would with one of his breakout bag styles — which is the point. He hopes this new category will bring the brand the same success as the bags, which have been worn by Bella Hadid, Solange Knowles and many more.
“I expect the [shoes] will be in a lot of places in the next year,” Clemens said in January.
