Of Course Telfar’s New NYC Store Isn’t Like Any Other

It was only a matter of time before Telfar opened a store in New York City. 

The eponymous label—founded by Telfar Clemens in 2004 and based in the Big Apple—debuted its first-ever retail location today on Canal and Broadway. The 10,000 square-foot space promises to be a new hang-out spot, with half of the space serving as a public access television studio. Inside feels reminiscent of a deli, thanks to bright LED screens and a sound-stage ceiling. Customers can shop at a “bag bar,” which features Telfar’s coveted shopping bag across colorways. (Yes, the Beyoncé-favored shopping bag, also dubbed the “Bushwick Birkin,” that’ll soon be available in genuine leather.) Shoppers can also try on and purchase from across apparel collections, denim pieces included, and they can preview handbags that haven’t yet been released.

“This is the culmination of years of work. Our first step has been three years in the making: building our own atelier so that we can do everything in house,” Telfar Artistic Director Babak Radboy tells L’OFFICIEL over email. The atelier, debuting in tandem with the retail location, will allow the brand to produce seasonal collections consistently. This will also enable Telfar to bring back fashion shows and presentations, per the brand, and the next one is slated for February 2025.

Of course the new store isn’t like any other. After all, Telfar always does things its own way, whether that’s its creative limited-edition drops or its wildly popular 2022 Rainbow pop-up in Brooklyn. For the brand, the latter served as a “blueprint” for what the store would look like, and it has been over a year in the making. The “shopping experience that felt like a party” helped the brand understand how to make every customer feel like a star, per Radboy. With the physical location, Radboy says that he and Clemens “wanted to create a home for what is really a social phenomenon… because it’s our community that made this brand possible. The store is the ultimate expression of our story and theirs.”

“We really wanted to think about our own experience of New York over the years—and what was missing for us as the city has gentrified,” Radboy adds. Accordingly, the brand says staff will mostly be models and friendly, embodying Telfar’s community-oriented philosophy. “We wanted a store that is really for New Yorkers—not some generic customer that is just passing through.”

The Telfar store, located at 408 Broadway, will host a grand opening celebration on November 23 that’ll be broadcast on Telfar.TV. Guests will have the chance to win a free shopping bag through a talent show-like competition. Judges will include Clemens himself, in addition to friends of the brand and some yet-to-be-named NYC fixtures. A “secret new bag” will debut, per the brand, and the limited-edition item will be sold exclusively in-store.

The store will be open Wednesday through Sunday. Hours vary.