Telfar's remarkable rise as a cultural touchstone has dovetailed with the launch of its Bag Security Program, an ingenious pre-sale initiative that made it easier for customers to attain Telfar's hotly sought-after handbags. That's why it seems almost inconceivable that Telfar is soon ending the Bag Security Program for good, but fear not — Telfar always has a plan.
The Bag Security Program began in 2020 and granted customers access what Telfar called "an unlimited pre-order." This was a canny solution to the problem that arises when you, a buzzy independent brand, have a hyped product that you wanna get to your customers, not resellers. What can ya do?
Well, you create Bag Security. The Program allowed fans to customize a Telfar bag by selecting the accessory's shape, size, and color before checking out at their leisure. No stress, no cartjacking. The customer's Telfar bag was then made to order.
Pretty clever system, really, and a shame that Telfar's Bag Security Program will end after its final sale goes live from June 16-18 on Telfar's website.
At least there's a consolation prize: Telfar promises that the last Bag Security Program will ship out bags twice as quickly as prior sales.
But, just because Bag Security is ending, don't think Telfar isn't going back to the drop method. The decision to end the Program is indicative of Telfar's desire to both reclaim its signature product and continue evolving. Stagnation is not an option.
“We are really trying to be true to the fact that Telfar is something we do WITH our customers," Telfar creative director Babak Radboy said in a statement. "They make it up as much as we do — so as we grow, other brands' blueprints don’t fit. We have to do everything differently.”
“Bag Security changed our lives and changed fashion," Telfar founder Telfar Clemens continued. "NY literally looks different — and we were able to leave the fashion system. We literally do exactly what we want as a company. That’s exactly what we are doing by moving on from it, too."
One idea that Telfar is tossing around, according to the release, is more bag drops driven by TELFAR TV, its in-house streaming platform.
The plan is to make Telfar launches "less dependent on corporate social media platforms," it says. In fact, the Telfar IRL experience is coming relatively soon, as Telfar is planning to open its own retail stores by 2024.
New stores aren't the only thing happening in Telfar world. There's supposedly a Telfar beauty line en route and the label is still experimenting with its Live Price system, which encourages customers to buy new Telfar goods as soon as they drop to lock in a bargain price.
All of this success comes off the back of Telfar's remarkable approach to organic, word-of-mouth hype. Telfar is likely proud that household names like Beyoncé and the Obama sisters are fans and that the Telfar bag has even appeared on primetime TV but it knows that Telfar's core audience is made up of regular customers, ranging from average folks to die-hards who've got Telfar Instagram notifications on and stalk the site for any tidbit of news for future drops.
To that end, Telfar consciously taps into its devotees to reward their loyalty.
It recently texted select customers info about a secret Telfar sale on May 31, for instance, and even alerted some Telfar true believers about the end of the Bag Security Program through intimate one-on-one Zoom calls, the latter of which informed a viral marketing campaign that spread across New York.
All in good fun and all part of creating a real-world Telfar family, a collective of people who truly care about Telfar and vice versa.
"We want people to be able to get our bags — but also for people who get our bags to GET US," Clemens said. "Otherwise what is it? So we want to make it both easier and harder. Because it’s never been about money. So it better be about something.”
