Fashion
Telfar Clemens Designed The Uniforms For Liberia’s Olympic Team
The West African designer made 70 pieces for the team and support staff.
Designer Telfar Clemens made waves during the pandemic for his signature T-emblazoned bags that consistently sell out within minutes of arrival. Now, the award-winning designer is putting his runway fashion skills to work as the official sponsor of Liberia’s track-and-field team for the 2021 Summer Olympics.
[SEE ALSO: Elysia Randolph Is Celebrating Black Beauty With Online African Marketplace]
Clemens emigrated to the U.S. from Liberia at the height of its civil war in 1990 when he was just 5 years old. Now he gets to honor his West African heritage on a global stage. According to a recent interview, he designed 70 pieces for the team and their support staff, including leggings, unitards, sweats, duffel bags, and racing spikes, accented with the single star of the Liberian flag.
The NYT featured a few of the looks modeled by Clemens and Liberian 100m and 200m sprinter Emmanuel Matadi waving the Liberian flag with the star replaced with Clemens logo.
The partnership marks the first time in more than 20 years that Liberia has had a team sponsor, as well as Clemens’ first foray into designing athletic wear. The designs will also mark the launch of his first limited athletic collection that will be available on his website.
He will also release a full collection this fall. “It will be an evergreen collection,” Clemens told the NYT. “These are clothes we want to sell for the rest of our lives.”
The news comes just weeks after Clemens released a new collaboration with UGG featuring short and tall grey sweat boots, unisex briefs, and an icy, blinged-out tee with a fused logo of the two brands.
