Didn’t get your hands on a Telfar bag? Have some memes

For those of you who still haven’t scored a Telfar bag (seriously, where tf have you been), it’s looking increasingly like you’re going to have a battle on your hands if you’re looking to buy one.

With recent drops of the NY label’s signature style selling out in seconds, unlucky shoppers have been taking to Twitter to express their regret at sleeping through their alarms, missing email alerts, or simply not having fast enough fingers when it came to securing the bag (literally). 

With the tote first landing in 2017, the style has become emblematic of Telfar’s ‘for everybody’ ethos. Retailing from a little under $150 for the tiny one you’ll likely have spotted everyone from Solange and Selena Gomez, to Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, and Bbymutha carrying, it’s also widely regarded as this era’s ‘It’ bag – dubbed ‘The Bushwick Birkin’ on account of just how many are roaming the streets of Brooklyn on any given day. 

Most recently, Telfar dropped a metallic silver iteration, first seen as part of the label’s AW20 show which took place in Florence in January (surprise: that one sold out basically immediately, too). While most people are seeing it as a challenge to act faster next time, others have called out the brand for failing to supply enough of the bags to meet demand. 

In response to this, Black Fashion Fair founder and fashion commentator Bibby Gregory Tweeted a thread questioning the expectations consumers have when it comes to Black fashion designers. 

“You can not support Telfar and at the same time not understand why these bags are not so easily accessible. Many Black designers don’t have the capital, infrastructure or network to meet demand let alone produce their designs,” he wrote, adding: “When (insert any designer bag here) sells out people simply wait for it. There’s no debate about whether or not they should have produced more. Over 5M people registered for the Dior Jordan when only 13K pairs were made. People did not tell Dior they should’ve made 5M pairs. Black owned brands are not allowed the same prestige. They’re not allowed to have customers wait. They’re not allowed to release stuff when they can actually produce it.”

The takeaway? As Gregory puts it, “Sign-up for the emails. Shop Telfar” – and probably don’t sleep through your alarm.

See some of the memes below.