Fans wait for hours for the grand opening of Telfar’s flagship in SoHo

Approximately 300 fashion enthusiasts waited in line for hours to be the first to experience the grand opening of Telfar’s flagship store in New York’s trendy SoHo neighborhood.

The line stretched down Broadway to a close-by alley before the ribbon cutting at 11 a.m.

The crowd got here dressed to impress, excited for the rare probability to get their hands on one of Telfar’s highly coveted bags, affectionately referred to as the “Bushwick Birkin.” For years, fans relied on pure luck to get their hands on the bags online, where they often sold out inside minutes, forcing many to show to resale apps and other platforms to secure them.

The 14-year-old, who arrived at 8 a.m., was first in line to get his bag and meet Telfar Clemens.

Skai Karim, 20, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, was fifth in line for a black tote bag. She also met an “icon” and noted how essential the whole experience was “if you’re a big fan.”

“Or perhaps you’ll go to the grand opening of the first flagship store for the first time? It’s a memory that should be created,” Karim said.

The recent 10,000-square-foot store has a striking press office at the entrance, clothing racks suspended from the ceiling and a shocking bag bar stretching the length.

Customers had the opportunity to preview every handbag Telfar has ever produced, receiving a “handbag menu” or QR codes to scan and browse the handbag selection to make selections at the bar.

“It screams New York,” Karim said of the store’s layout. “That screams Telfar.”

Telfar expressed his pride in opening the store, which comes after twenty years of online stores and pop-up stores flocked by fans and hungry sellers.

“The store tells the whole story,” Clemens said of the store opening. “It’s not just bags – it’s a cultural phenomenon and a total look – it took 20 years to develop.”

“This is our flagship store in New York — we want to spread that energy the other 365 days of the year,” Clemens added. “That’s why the store is so centrally located – you’ll never understand Telfar by walking into an existing store.”