Exclusive | Telfar, of Bushwick Birkin fame, holding open mics and ‘wild surprises’ at new NYC store opening: ‘It’s going to be a show’

The Bushwick Birkin has landed in Soho.

Telfar — a New York-based brand beloved by Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Oprah and Bella Hadid — is opening its first downtown storefront at Broadway and Canal Street on Saturday.

Crowned a cult must-have by the fashion group for two decades, the brand will debut a 10,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar outfitted with a Telfar TV studio and a fully stocked, floor-to-ceiling “bag bar.” Ceiling display of every product Telfar has ever produced — plus a coveted limited-edition bag.

The brand’s sporadic drops have caused turmoil, but founder Telfar Clemens tells The Post that the store’s opening is “a huge milestone.”

“The store tells the whole story,” he said. “It’s not just bags – it’s a cultural phenomenon and it’s a total look – 20 years in the making.”

With its embossed “T” logo, the faux leather bags were the hottest of 2023, selling out within minutes of each highly anticipated drop online.

But at the flagship, next to which street vendors ply their trade, customers can purchase the handbag, affectionately nicknamed the “Bushwick Birkin,” without the stress of their favorite color, size or style being sold in front of the cash register.

Plus, a new limited-edition bag — said to be a style consumers have been clamoring for in recent years — is slated to be unveiled at Saturday’s opening, which Clemens noted is “on the eve of our 20th anniversary.”

The brand’s “Rainbow” style debuted at a pop-up in 2022 and attracted legions of eager fans, who poured onto the streets, blocking traffic and exiting the store in droves.

“It was crazy. It was nice, but this is different,” Clemens said. “This is our flagship store in NYC—we want to spread that energy to the other 365 days of the year.”

This time, the fashion label urged potential customers not to storm the store window on the opening day, and those who can’t miss the event will be asked to RSVP for a certain time to enter. As of Friday, many of the “extremely limited” general admission tickets were sold.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO COME TO THE OPENING,” Telfar posted on social media, with the label also warning that the wait just to get in was likely to exceed two hours. “IT WILL BE OPEN FOREVER.”

A moment that won’t last forever is a spectacle planned for Saturday. In the alley behind the store, Telfar will host a talent show of sorts, giving fans a chance to put on a performance. Winners can cross the line and win a prize if liked by the crowds and the judges, made up of Clemens, his friends and undiscovered New York icons.

“It’s going to be quite the show,” he told The Post. “A party and open house – and we’ve got some wild surprises in store. We wanted to mark the day.”

At the bag bar – which creative director Babak Radboy described to Vogue Business as working akin to “walking into a club” – every bag in every color will be available for purchase, subject to availability online, and lucky shoppers will also be able to preview new launches before the bag debuts online.

During events, the baggage carousel can process up to 4,000 orders in a single day — bandwidth that seems necessary given Telfar’s track record.

Devout brand loyalists – many of whom have taken to social media to express their enthusiasm for the flag – will likely want to be online.

However, the store opening will be broadcast live as a celebration on the label’s 24-hour channel, Telfar.TV.

The element of community and collaboration is an intentional aspect of the interactive mortar, which also features a space to join or shoot content and ‘fit control’, which can then be streamed to the LED screens of the shop.

But the real reason for a permanent Telfar storefront is to experience clothing IRL, rather than URL. Despite the brand operating as an online retailer and selling products through a drop model, Clemens wants to showcase everything the label has to offer from head to toe.

When asked what the most exciting part has been, Clemens said it’s been doing the work.

“To be honest, it’s behind the scenes stuff,” he told The Post. “We’ve been building an atelier for the last three years so we can go back to the full 360 collection on our terms – and do it 100% independently. That’s why the store is so central – you won’t understand never Telfarin entering an existing store.

Produced in the brand’s 13,000 square meter atelier, seasonal collections of clothing and accessories will also be available to buy. At the Soho flagship, customers can browse the brand’s Wilsons Leather collaboration, Telfar Denim collection, Performance athleticwear capsule and its sportswear.

And although the brand has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to the Internet, Clemens hopes his store will foster connectivity away from the keyboard.

“We’re very excited that it’s going to come together in one place,” he said, “and have people put down their phones and feel something.”