Telfar Is Launching an Affordable Collaboration With Gap

Telfar, the New York brand behind the famous “Bushwick Birkin” shopping bag, has just announced an upcoming collaboration with clothing retailer Gap.

On January 16, Telfar Clemens, the brand’s founder, announced the news via Telfar’s Instagram with a simple post that seemed to depict the collab’s logo. “COMING SOON #GAPbyTELFAR,” the caption read. As surprising as this move may seem, Clemens and the brand’s artistic director, Babak Radboy, point out that a move to the mainstream is completely in line with their initial intentions for the label.

Speaking to Vogue, Clemens noted that, “If you look at the first two seasons Telfar and I did together, it is Gap. The Gap customer was supposed to be everybody, literally anybody. It’s like we’re stuck in this luxury market when what inspires us is…being on regular people, and that kind of ubiquity and accessibility.”

Clemens’s excitement about the collaboration is shared by Gap’s head of design John Caruso. “The brand values of accessibility, democracy, universal basics, and affordability came up really quickly in our initial conversations,” Caruso remembers. “Within the first five minutes of meeting them I knew it was right.”

This isn’t the first seemingly odd partnership Telfar has debuted. Back in 2017, the brand also linked up with fast-food chain White Castle for a capsule collection. But, as the label has generated more buzz in the high-end market, a sudden mass-market collaboration is a real and appreciated shake-up.

What exactly the two brands have cooking — and when we’re going to get it — is unclear as of yet. Still, there have been a few hints on both sides of the collab; Caruso was originally attracted to the label after seeing how they manipulated denim, so there might be a few pairs of Telfar x Gap jeans on the horizon. Clemens, in contrast, seems more excited about the newfound sizing options and accessibility of the brand.

Whatever the two brands come up with, rumors say it will be in stores by the end of 2020, and we’re just hoping it comes sooner rather than later!

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue