Telfar is the fashion label everyone needs right now — its inclusive, unisex streetwear that engages with disenfranchised groups and charges affordably at high-street prices. Telfar Clemens, the creative genius behind this label, just received the top prize for the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund at The Weylin in Williamsburg, New York yesterday evening.
In his acceptance speech, Clemens commented, “I know it’s been a hard, long road but that’s what pioneers do.” And we’re 100% on board with his sentiment. For a brand that’s been established since 2005, the fashion industry has been lagging in its celebration of how the clothes look and feel, and what wearing Telfar stands for. But Clemens is catching up to speed with his much-deserved accolade, along with a prize money of USD400,000 and a mentor from the pool of CFDA judges of his choosing.
“Diversity is very important,” said Diane Von Furstenberg, chairman of CFDA at the award ceremony. Other important designers included Chromat, body-inclusive swimwear brand and Ahlem Eyewear, who walked away with USD150,000 and from the panel of judges a mentor of their choosing.
For those whose interests have been piqued, Telfar’s clothing is mostly deconstructed t-shirts re-worked into different silhouettes and thicknesses. And since Clemens asserts that the brand is “horizontal, democratic, universal,” he definitely doesn’t shy away from pulling inspiration across the spectrum of conventional mens and womenswear. It takes a certain level of spunk to pull off some of his more eccentric pieces, but we’re certainly up for the challenge!
Signature Half Tank USD80, Customer Long-Sleeve Tee USD100, White Logo Pocket T-shirt USD100 on Telfar
Header image: Vogue
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