With a current bid of $15,000, this luxury handbag is so small you’ll need a microscope to even see it.
Based on Louis Vuitton’s OnTheGo tote, art collective MSCHF has created a bag so small it can pass through the eye of a needle. No larger than a grain of sea salt, the Microscopic Handbag was crafted using a 3D printer.
Poking fun at the tiny purse trend and taking it to the extreme, the bag measures 657 by 222 by 700 micrometers.
The fluorescent green bag still bears Louis Vuitton’s iconic monogram, which was etched into the resin piece. It will be mounted underneath a microscope so that all the details are visible.
“I think ‘bag’ is a funny object because it derives from something rigorously functional,” said Kevin Wiesner, the chief creative officer of MSCHF, in an interview with The New York Times. “But it has basically become jewelry.”
By taking away the bag’s utility, it simply becomes a brand signifier. “It is the final word in bag miniaturization,” MSCHF stated in an Instagram post.
The bag will be sold in the Just Phriends auction, organized by Sarah Andelman and Joopiter, the auction house founded by Pharrell Williams. Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton named Williams as its new men’s creative director.
The designer is still fresh from the release of his first men’s campaign for the luxury brand. However, MSCHF didn’t ask Williams for permission to use the Louis Vuitton logo. “We are big in the ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ school,” Wiesner remarked. “Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag.”
MSCHF has been in the business of parodies for years now. Some of their past drops include $76,000 “Birkinstock” sandals made from Birkin bags and the sold-out Big Red Boots celebrities were stomping around in during New York Fashion Week.
The bag is now open for online bidding on Joopiter’s website, with a current bid of $15,000. While it is still on display during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris, Wiesner hopes it will end up with someone who won’t treat it with too much reverence.
“I almost hope somebody eats it,” he said.
Banner image via Instagram @mschf.
