If there’s one thing that will set fashion Twitter ablaze, it’s a new Telfar drop. The label’s perpetually sold-out vegan-leather tote bags have become a status symbol as recognizable as a Dior saddle bag or a Fendi baguette but at a more accessible price point. So no, it was not surprising when, last Wednesday fans of the brand started freaking out about the puffer tote bags the label teased would be dropping this Monday. But that’s only one part of the brand’s latest venture. Telfar collaborated with Moose Knuckles, the storied Canadian outerwear brand. Forget snagging a Telfar bag; get yourself a fur-trimmed Telfar bomber.
The collaboration is structured in two parts. First, a 17-piece collaboration with Moose Knuckles, launching in full on November 1 on both Telfar’s and Moose Knuckles’s websites. (The bags launched today and have already sold out.) Second, Telfar’s in-line collection of five core styles of outerwear, made using Moose Knuckles’s expertise in the sector. “The way that fashion is structured is like, ‘Fashion is your other jacket.’ But we want this to be your jacket,” explains Babak Radboy, creative director of Telfar. “We’ve had this language of outerwear for years, but making outerwear takes time. Doing it properly can take generations. Moose Knuckles has been making outerwear for three generations in Winnipeg. They’re made properly, they understand the materials.”
The collection as a whole has a Y2K vibe to it, with fur trims and puffs and bombers with elastic waists. Most of the pieces are covered with a quilted Telfar logo, tapping into both logomania and the puffer-coat trend. The core styles in Telfar’s collection are made with nylon, while the Moose Knuckles pieces use fur and leather.
As with their tote bags, the goal for both Radboy and founder Telfar Clemens is to reach a level of ubiquity. “I want everybody to have this coat,” Clemens says. “I want you to get confused, like you took the wrong coat home from a party because everybody has this coat.” One of the ways they reach this saturation is by keeping the price point attainable for a luxury brand. The core styles for Telfar—a long coat, short puffer, and peacoat—are between $400 and $550. “It’s attainable. Even if it’s sold out, it’s attainable,” Clemens says. For those who have more to spend, the Moose Knuckles collaboration features fur-trimmed, logo-embossed pants for $750 and a long leather quilted coat for $4,300.
Photos of the Moose Knuckles collaboration are already on Telfar’s website for virtual window-shopping ahead of the release on November 1 at noon. “Getting a coat is really hard sometimes,” Clemens says. “We wanted a coat that everyone is going to have for a while. It’s the beginning of our outerwear journey.” Mark your calendars!