Clemens concealed his age starting out in NYC to avoid industry disrespect
Telfar Clemens · Telfar: Telfar Clemens and Babak Radboy · Feb 14, 2022 · at 15:00
Telfar Clemens, founder of fashion brand Telfar, recounts pitching boutique buyers on the Lower East Side as an 18-year-old college freshman.
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“I had this whole thing that I wouldn't tell anyone how old I was. Like, my best friends, they didn't know I was 18 until I was 21, you know? Like, they thought I was 21 the whole time, because I always just immediately would just feel, like, this amount of disrespect that When you told someone that was 25 that you were 18, you know. So I just didn't tell anybody how old I was, especially people that are older than me.”
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