From Telfar to Luar, NYC Handbags Are Having a "Rise and Rise" Moment

In New York, handbags run the city. Telfar and Luar dictate the rules, one silhouette at a time. They move through streets, cafés, and brownstones with authority, quietly reshaping who counts and what gets carried.

The Telfar Shopping Bag, nicknamed the “Bushwick Birkin,” began as a unisex tote and evolved into a manifesto. Clemens turned simplicity into statement: a bag that broadcasts values, not wealth. From rooftop parties to subway commutes, it carries community, inclusivity, and a distinctly New York sensibility.

Raul Lopez scripts a parallel story with the Luar Ana Bag. Circular top handle, retro-meets-modern lines, presence that stops you mid-stride—when Rihanna or Dua Lipa drape it over an arm, the Ana Bag validates taste, signals allegiance, and stakes its claim on the city’s style map.

What sets these bags apart isn’t necessarily design but their identity in motion. Telfar thrives on grassroots loyalty and cultural resonance, while Luar channels a similar ethos with irreverent elegance and inclusivity at its core. Each bag is a signal, a badge, and a defiance wrapped in leather.

From the L to Park Avenue, these bags move like quiet disruptors. They claim their place as markers of taste, identity, and cultural authority, choreographing the unspoken language of New York style. To carry one is to participate in the city’s ongoing dialogue.