what a carry

What the Interview Editors Would Carry Inside the Giant Telfar Bag

Art by Jack Vhay.

There is a particular scene in The Devil Wears Prada where Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) meets up with her not-so-supportive friends after work, during which she handled an emergency in the accessories department. She hands out goodies from Runway, the Vogue-like magazine at which she works. A $1,100 slim phone for her doting boyfriend (Adrien Grenier), a little Clinique for her fashion-savvy friend, and a Marc Jacobs bag for her other friend. What follows is a discussion about accessories, bags in particular, which is born out of a mansplaining moment from the boyfriend: “You have one. You put all your junk in it, and that’s it. You’re done.” He’s wrong. Bags are not just sacks to carry junk, although many of us do in fact carry junk in our bags. Bags can be best described through the words of Andy’s sort-of-gay friend (Rich Sommer): “Fashion is not about utility. An accessory is merely a piece of iconography used to express individual identity.” So much is true for the iconic Telfar bag: an accessory that fits all your junk but also stands for a look, an attitude, and even a whole neighborhood.

Every year, there’s an “it-bag.” Fendi, Gucci, Balenciaga, Chloé, Dior, and other long-standing fashion houses have had their moments. Usually, no matter the accessory, they share two commonalities: they’re pretty and expensive. Enter Telfar Clemens and his array of simple bags adorned with his recognizable T logo and an accessible price range ($140 to $230). In the spirit of the democratization of the “it-bag” around the world, we, the Interview editors, called in an SSENSE-exclusive extra-extra large orange Telfar bag and took it for a spin. What sort of junk would we carry inside? From Juul pods to White Claw and Aviva Drescher’s leg, it’s a carry.

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MEL OTTENBERG

Creative Director

“I would wear all denim and rep NYC with this bag. I want one. Gia Kuan [Telfar’s PR rep] I want one!”

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SARAH NECHAMKIN

Digital Editor

“Advil, Advil, more Advil (free-release gels), a crumpled up copy of three-weeks old New Yorker, four aromatherapy vapes (different flavors), a pair of airplane headphones, Altoids, more Altoids, digestive enzymes, Liv Tyler’s lips phone, a Gucci Coronavirus mask, a Nan Goldin coffee table book, one Reebok, three overdue therapy bills, my liberal arts diploma, a case of White Claw, the entire Boy Smells Chromesthesia collection, another Telfar bag, all 9 Celine perfumes, 40 receipts, 50 scrunchies, three beanies of lovers’ past.”

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BELLA KHOSHABA

Market Assistant

“I’d like to be carried in the bag.”

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MARK BURGER

Digital Editorial Assistant

“I would use it to carry several increasingly smaller Telfar bags like a designer Russian nesting doll, and at the center would be a bottle of red wine, a phone charger, and a single joint. This bag is reserved for weeknight work events where I find myself saying things like, ‘Sorry, are these eggrolls vegan?’ and ‘Let’s circle back tomorrow.’ Also, when people mention the size of the bag, I’d just say, ‘It’s an Aquarius thing.'”