Telfar's status-symbol bags will be easier to get for a limited time

The hottest bag in the world right now costs just $150. That's been a revolutionary movement led by Telfar, a unisex brand that favors vegan leather and making luxury more accessible. But it's also led to instant sellouts and an inflated resale market that goes against the very essence of Telfar. And in an effort to take back control, Telfar is making yet another subversive move.

For 24 hours only, Telfar will accept pre-orders for its in-demand Shopping Bag, also known as the "Bushwick Birkin." All three sizes of the bag in every 18 colors went up on Telfar's site at 9AM ET today and will be available until the same tomorrow. There are no limits on how many can be ordered, and delivery is promised by January 15 at the latest. It's a game-changer in world where scarcity is part of the appeal, and we can only hope that streetwear follows suit with its most coveted items.

Made-to-order — In announcing its Bag Security Program, Telfar issued the following statement: "We are not about hype and scarcity. We didn’t set out to make an impossible to get product. The whole point of our bag is accessibility and community."

Production is normally planned six months in advance, and Telfar says another crop of bags will become available before the pre-orders are shipped out. Telfar says not to fret because those bags were already in the pipeline — they have no bearing on the bags being made to order.

Delivery is guaranteed between December 15 and January 15, pending any sort of disaster ("Covid, Tsunami, Asteroids, etc.").

Gone in 60 seconds — Telfar's last stock of small Shopping Bags sold out in under a minute. Previous releases also crashed Telfar's website, and the brand says it had no way of knowing how many bags to make for each re-stock.

The hype is noteworthy when typical it-bags can easily hit the $2,000 range. Telfar's start at just $150 for a small version and top out at $257 for the largest size available. Telfar has been selling the Shopping Bag since 2014, but it's only caused such a frenzy in the past two years. "Our bag ain't new — it’s the world that changed," Telfar said. "Let’s keep it changing."

With its rejection of scarcity and commitment to combatting bots and resellers, it isn't crazy to think Telfar is changing the world once again.