By: Haley Bosselman By: Haley Bosselman | August 5, 2022 | Culture, Style & Beauty,
Beyoncé knows her power all too well. It’s something she captured in her featured verse on Nicki Minaj’s 2014 track, “Feeling Myself.”
“Changed the game with that digital drop. Know where you was when that digital popped, I stopped the world,” she sings, referencing the surprise release of her 2013 self-titled album.
On July 29, she stopped the world again with her tour de force dance record, Renaissance. And in proper Bey fashion, the ripple effects cast far beyond the music industry.
Following the midnight debut, The RealReal saw an 85 percent increase in views of Telfar items that very same day. Compared to the last weekend of July 2021, item views for Telfar have more than doubled at 131 percent. It’s all likely because of the power of Beyoncé.
Album closer “Summer Renaissance”— which samples Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”— rounds out with Beyoncé spitting names of various designer brands. The verse then closes with the line “This Telfar bag imported, Birkins, them s**** in storage. I’m in my bag.”
Could The RealReal uptick in Telfar searches be a coincidence? Likely not.
“Celebrities can have a direct impact on the demand we see for brands or certain styles,” Kelly McSweeney, women's merchandising manager at The RealReal, explained over email. “Following a major moment like Beyoncé singing her love for Telfar in ‘Summer Renaissance,’ we tend to see a pretty immediate boost in that brand’s popularity on The RealReal, whether it be through an increase in search or a spike in sales, for example.”
“Before releasing ‘Summer Renaissance’, the fashion community knew Beyoncé to be a longtime supporter of Telfar, having helped make the brand’s Shopping Bag, jokingly dubbed the ‘Bushwick Birkin,’ rather iconic while carrying it last summer in NYC,” McSweeney continued. “Looking at another fan favorite, when Rihanna announced her pregnancy wearing a pink vintage Chanel down coat from the Fall 1996 runway, we sold two of the same coat on The RealReal for close to $20,000 each in the weeks to follow.”
Nevertheless, we should keep in mind just how popular Telfar has been. “While Beyonce’s lyrics endorsing Telfar are surely a memorable moment for the brand and listeners…Telfar has been a consistent best-seller on our site for a few years,” McSweeney added.
See also: 7 Of The Craziest ‘Renaissance' Merch Items From Beyoncé
Zoe Kravitz
In fact, the brand has quite the celebrity following and can namecheck Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, Megan the Stallion and Zoe Kravitz as fans, among others. This A-list following combined with limited quantities on the primary market make for Telfar’s consistently strong performance on The RealReal.
“Depending on color and size, these bags can sell for up to three times their retail value,” McSweeney said. “While it’s unclear if Telfar’s resale value will continue to rise further, it’s very likely the spotlight Beyoncé has shined on the brand isn’t dimming anytime soon.”
Photography by: PHOTO BY CARLIJN JACOBS FOR PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT/COLUMBIA RECORDS; LRNYC/MEGA/GC Images for Getty Images