A miniature handbag, measuring a mere 657 by 222 by 700 microns (less than 0.03 inches wide), recently fetched a staggering $63,000 at an online auction held on Wednesday.
This fluorescent yellowish-green bag, barely perceptible to the naked eye, is inspired by a renowned design from Louis Vuitton. However, the creation is the brainchild of MSCHF, an art collective based in Brooklyn, rather than the luxury fashion house itself.
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Dubbed the “Microscopic Handbag,” MSCHF claims that this diminutive accessory is so slender that it can pass through the eye of a needle and is even smaller than a grain of sea salt.
The auction was organized by Joopiter, an online auction house founded by Pharrell Williams, an American musician, record producer, and designer. While Williams currently holds the position of creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, Kevin Wiesner, MSCHF’s chief creative officer, informed The New York Times that the collective did not seek permission from either Williams or the French fashion label to use their logo or design.
In Wiesner’s words to the newspaper, “Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag.”
Established in 2016, MSCHF has gained notoriety for its unconventional art projects known as “drops,” which often satirize and profit from consumer capitalism. One of their most infamous endeavors involved the “Satan Shoes,” a limited series of 666 modified Nike sneakers featuring satanic symbols and even drops of real human blood. This led to a legal dispute with Nike, which was eventually resolved out of court.
The collective, known for its playful mockery of the art world’s extravagance, has also directed its focus toward luxury fashion. In 2021, they garnered attention by tearing apart four Birkin handbags to fashion sandals called “Birkinstocks,” priced at up to $76,000 per pair. More recently, their whimsical rubber boots, named “Big Red Boots,” went viral after being worn by celebrities such as Doja Cat, Iggy Azalea, and Janelle Monáe.
Accompanying the auction listing was a statement positing that the fashion industry’s obsession with miniaturized bags had reached such an extreme that the accessory had become merely a symbol of the brand. The statement further remarked, “Previous small leather handbags still required a hand to carry them—they became dysfunctional inconveniences for their ‘wearer.’ ‘Microscopic Handbag’ takes this idea to its logical conclusion. A practical object is reduced to jewelry, with all its intended functionality evaporated. For luxury objects, usability is the angels’ share.”
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