Honorary Degree Citation

Doctor of Humane Letters

Telfar Clemens ’08

Telfar Clemens ’08 has lived a classic Pace success story—and done it with his own inimitable style.

Clemens was born to Liberian parents in Queens; his father had earned an MBA at Pace a few years earlier. The family returned to their home country when Telfar was very young, but in 1990 the First Liberian Civil War forced them to return to the United States. At P.S. 206, a teacher drew monograms for every student in the class: for Clemens, a T inside a round C. Today, it’s the logo for his wildly successful fashion brand, Telfar.

When Clemens arrived at Pace in the fall of 2003, he was already designing his own creations. While he studied at the Lubin School of Business, he also dove into the downtown worlds of music, culture, and fashion. In the model of countless Pace generations before him, he hustled: He got up early for his classes, he spent his afternoons working on his collections, and worked as a DJ at night to earn money. Biking around the city, he was inspired by street styles; looking at his friends, he saw gender lines breaking down. In 2005, while still a student, he founded his label, producing accessible, unisex items built on principles of fluidity and inclusivity.

He graduated from Pace with a degree in business management, and he quickly established himself as an insider’s designer, with his clothes worn by people who worked in the industry. In 2017, he won the coveted CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, and he invested its prize of $400,000 in production of the Telfar Shopping Bag—now lovingly known as “the Bushwick Birkin” for its status as an accessible icon.

The Telfar brand’s tagline is “Not for you, for everyone.” As the label has grown, it has stayed true to its roots. Clemens controls all his own production. New releases are made available, democratically, to those who sign up online. The bags are made from vegan leather.

Telfar Clemens is a fashion force to be reckoned with. But he’s done it his own way, and he hasn’t strayed from his roots. When he’s in New York City, he still lives in the family home in LeFrak City in Queens, where he started out all those years ago. He is a model and an inspiration to countless young people, and especially to students at Pace today.

For his creative and inspiring vision, for his hard work and success, and for his commitment to accessibility, community, and lifting up others, Pace University is proud to confer upon Telfar Clemens the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereunto.