Telfar Sort Of Returned To Paris Fashion Week After 7 Years

It’s been seven years since Telfar designer Telfar Clemens showed his eponymous label on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, and on the biannual event’s final night in France, he returned to the City of Lights — sort of. Guests, including creative director and cultural advocate Edward Buchanan, were ushered into the Dannou Theatre — a historic venue in the 2nd arrondissement — where a stage was set with “Lanvin” blue velvet curtains for what was presumed to be a traditional runway show. But in the Telfar world, nothing is ever traditional, and the Liberian-American talent reminded us all of that on Tuesday night.

The “show” opened with an animal-print-clad model, whose runway walk was interrupted by the familiar sound of a ringing iPhone. The caller was Clemens himself, who appeared on a screen behind the stage that revealed a livestream of an actual fashion show in Brooklyn, New York, happening simultaneously. “The decision to leave New York was not easy,” stated the show notes, which were rolled up in a Telfar-branded newspaper with coupons that could be used to purchase archival pieces available at a sample sale immediately following the show. “NY is our home, we have shown over 40 seasons here on schedule.”

That explains Clemens’ pseudo return to Paris with a collection heavily inspired by the American city and its people, or “suits” as he called them. A majority of the looks riffed on traditional corporate attire, with trousers and blazers that were turned inside out, along with raw-hemmed skirts of varying lengths and funnel-neck dress shirts. From there, the range moved into wild territory — or as Clemens explained, “the well-suited day traders drag into the night” — with leopard and snake print separates including baby tees and scarf-like halters. High street basics like bodysuits, bra tops, hoodies, and sharkskin denim were also thrown into the mix, culminating in a moto-inspired jacket and pants crafted out of worn-in sweats in black and tan.

Despite a pull quote that read, “I’m more than a bag,” written across the top of one of the newspaper’s pages, handbags accompanied most of the looks, with a new fox tail style making its debut on the runway. Sample sale shoppers were also given the opportunity to swap an old Shopping Bag (Telfar’s most recognized style that Oprah included in her favorite things of 2020) for a credit of up to $100 to spend on anything up for grabs post-show. In describing the chain details that finished the ribbed underpinnings in the finale looks, the brand alluded to a new bag that is set to release next year. Fans in New York and Paris are waiting with bated breath.

Below, see highlights from Telfar’s Brooklyn-set Paris Fashion Week Spring 2027 runway show.