Even though in the past few years openmindedness regarding gender and its expression has been promoted -and at times achieved-, it is still very evident that segregations take place. To get rid of these, systematic exposure to the subject, continuous learning and an eager disposition are needed. Understanding and learning about the social construction of the gender binary are still relatively new to society, rendering accessibility to goods and services difficult for non-binary people, who don’t take gender for granted.

The world of fashion, directly connected to gender expression, is a world that includes major discriminations. For this reason, it’s relevant to mention TELFAR, a brand that aims, among other things, to dismantle discrimination and stereotypes regarding gender. This brand promotes a less gendered design for its clothing, which is underlined by the motto “It's not for you — it's for everyone.”

Telfar Fall 2020 menswear | Source vogue.com

Their collections, based on a gender-fluid conception of the body, include pieces that don’t accentuate nor imply the sex of the person wearing them. Fashion designer and founder of the brand Telfar Clemens, strives to spread this way of thinking and designing in order to change the fashion industry. He avidly insists on the individual’s right to choose how to wear clothes and accessories, rejecting the traditional mentality that clothes themselves signify how they are meant to be worn and thus subtract the individual’s freedom of expression, while rendering a daily process, getting dressed, unnecessarily hard. Moreover, the brand promotes a durable, ecological and sustainable design, choosing materials like 100% vegan leather. It is clear that TELFAR tries to democratise clothing and work and to prolong “life” on earth.

More specifically the idea for the versatile and iconic TELFAR bag came to the Liberian-American fashion designer when he noticed that the paper bag used for groceries, and for shopping in general, is ecological and unisex. So in 2014, the TELFAR bag made its debut, along with the brand itself, and in 2017 the same bag won the 400.000$ CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. With this sum, more bags were designed, created and promoted into the market, further increasing the brand’s reach.

Black models pose for the campaign, promoting once again diversity, democracy and accessibility to fashion, achieving a combination of high-quality design with functionalistic references, products with zero environmental footprint and, finally, completely genderless accessories that don’t bind or limit the individual. So, TELFAR’s pieces address, as expressed in their motto, all individuals and aim at the creation of a new tradition in the fashion industry that will be characterised by inclusivity and acceptance, and not by the continuation of marginalisation.

Telfar shopping bag | Source newsgroove.co.uk

Sources:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/16/telfar-clemens-mass-appeal

https://shop.telfar.net

https://www.vogue.com/article/telfar-clemens-shopping-bags-frenzy

https://www.wmagazine.com/story/telfar-fashion-video