How a $35 street-market bag became Gen Z's 2026 status symbol
In the Gen years of TikTok-driven shopping, 70-year-old leatherworker Peter Farkas became an overnight sensation after influencer Janell Roberts promoted his $35 handmade bags on social media in May 2026. Young New Yorkers now queue around the block in SoHo and the Upper West Side for the ludicrously capacious totes.
It is 8 a.m. on West Houston and Sullivan Street in SoHo, and the crowd is not chasing fro-yo or a celebrity sighting. Trendy young women are waiting for Farkas, a Romanian immigrant who thought his street-selling days were behind him when he tried to retire.
"I tried to retire and this happened," Farkas told the New York Post. The twist fits the kind of story that often surfaces in Bizarre News & Florida Man: social media turned a humble market stall into the city's hottest accessory drop.
Key Takeaways
- Gen Z shoppers swarmed Farkas's SoHo stall after a May 2026 TikTok from influencer Janell Roberts, who has 341,000 followers.
- Handmade leather bags sell for $35 to $50, far below luxury labels, and fans call them ludicrously capacious.
- Farkas's daughters Jessica, Harley, and Tana now haul up to 500 bags weekly to St. Anthony Market in SoHo and the Grand Bazaar on the Upper West Side.
- Bags are hand-dyed from cow or deer leather at Farkas's upstate New York tannery, with colors that vary week to week.
- The viral surge revived a leather career Farkas had hoped to leave behind when he planned to retire.
Who is Peter Farkas and why are Gen Z shoppers lining up?
Farkas is a 70-year-old Romanian immigrant and veteran leatherworker who spent decades crafting goods before attempting retirement. That plan collapsed in May when Roberts posted a TikTok video telling her 341,000 followers she had finally found the man behind the bags everyone wanted.
"I've been looking everywhere for this man and finally found him," Roberts wrote. "Every bag is handmade and it's hugeeeee and the bag is $35 bucks obsessed!"
Since that post, Farkas has been mobbed by shoppers eager to copy the TikTok look. Lines stretch around the corner at his regular spots, and customers stop him constantly to congratulate the gentle giant behind the counter.
What makes the $35 Peter bag a viral status item?
Roberts branded the totes the secret status item of 2026, and the math helps explain the hype. Prices range from $35 to $50, roughly 2.16 percent of what a Louis Vuitton tote costs, according to the Post.
Each bag is handmade from hand-dyed cow or deer leather at Farkas's tannery in upstate New York. Because dyes vary, every batch looks a little different, turning shade hunting into part of the appeal.
Shoppers describe the bags as ludicrously capacious, big enough for daily hauls without the designer markup. For a generation raised on viral finds, that combination of size, craft, and price hits the sweet spot.
Where can you buy Peter Farkas's handmade leather bags?
Farkas sells at street markets rather than a flagship store. Each week, his daughters Jessica, Harley, and Tana bring up to 500 bags to St. Anthony Market in SoHo or the Grand Bazaar Market on the Upper West Side.
Demand still outpaces supply in bursts. A single viral clip can empty a table fast, which is why the family treats production and transport as a weekly sprint rather than steady retail.
His daughters are also helping launch the first official Branded Leather website, a sign the sidewalk rush may soon get a digital storefront.
Will Peter Farkas actually retire after his TikTok fame?
Do not bet on it. Farkas told the Post that decades of expertise make the bags simple for him to produce, and that they are built to last. He said he creates them for everyone, not just the downtown crowd.
Production has become a family affair, with his daughters managing inventory while Farkas stays the face shoppers want to meet. One buyer told the Post she picked up three bags just to thank him in person.
For now, the Gen years belong to a man who tried to walk away from the stall and ended up with the longest line on Sullivan Street.