THIS PAST SUMMER, Telfar Clemens marked the 20th anniversary of his namesake brand the way many designers do: with a blow-out show. But Clemens’s celebration didn’t come with champagne; nor was it held in some impossible-to-get-to venue. He invited everyone to an alley behind his New York flagship store, where his cult-beloved Telfar Half Tank tops hung on clotheslines as family, friends, and megafans gathered, their Telfar shopping totes in hand, to witness a procession of shiny, circular-pocket cargoes, bodycon dresses with exposed seams, and loose, pastel-hued suits come down the runway.
It was the designer’s biggest collection to date—nearly 200 looks in total. It was also quintessential Telfar, whose vision of luxury has been defined by an inherently inclusive brand of cool, with an ethos embodied by the motto…
