Dive Brief:
- New York-based label Telfar and Brazil-based footwear brand Melissa will release a collaborative capsule of transparent PVC handbags and slides, according to a release sent to Fashion Dive.
- The four-piece collection will be available Friday on Telfar’s website, and Monday on Melissa’s website and in their New York City Galeria Melissa store. Each piece is made from Melflex, a proprietary Melissa PVC which is hypoallergenic, fully recyclable and odorless, per the brand’s website.
- Prices for the line are $150 for a small shopper, $200 for a medium, and $250 for the large, and the unisex slides will cost $100.
Dive Insight:
Melissa has frequently partnered with fashion brands during its 40-year history, including collaborations with Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood, and a line with Marc Jacobs, released in June.
Liberian-born designer Telfar Clemens launched his namesake line in 2005. He’s known for designing sought-after vegan-leather handbags that have been dubbed “Bushwick Birkins” for both their popularity and the air of exclusivity their ownership conveys. Despite the company’s “Bag Security Program,” which allowed customers to pre-order an unlimited number of bags during specific two-day time periods, luxury handbag reseller Rebag noted last year that Telfar bags sell for an average of 195% of their original retail value, making them more valuable on the resale market than any heritage luxury brand.
Telfar has frequently collaborated with accessible fashion brands including Converse and Ugg in 2021, and Eastpak last year. Also last year, Telfar threw a shopping event at fast-fashion retailer Rainbow Shops in downtown Brooklyn. Then Telfar and Ugg continued their partnership this March, with a limited collection of blue and pink shoppers that were on track to sell out almost immediately.
However, change is on the horizon. Last year, Telfar filed a trademark application to protect its TC logo on colognes, perfumes, cosmetics and eyewear, extending its trademark beyond its existing line of bags, jewelry and clothing, and the brand announced on Instagram that June’s Bag Security Program — the company’s fifth — would be its last. While that trademark application was amended in May after opposition from British beauty brand Charlotte Tilbury, whose logo is similar, these are signs that the brand may be looking to grow beyond its viral roots.
