Some small things can come with a hefty price tag.
That is exactly the case for the so-called “Microscopic Handbag” by New York-based art collective MSCHF, which sold for over US$63,000 (S$85,000) at an online auction on Wednesday.
The fluorescent yellowish-green handbag measures less than 0.76mm wide, and is a speck-like rendition of Louis Vuitton’s (LV) OnTheGo tote.
It is so tiny you would need a microscope to see the bag and the LV monogram on its face.
MSCHF claims the bag is narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle.
It is also said to be smaller than a grain of sea salt.
The bag was made using a manufacturing technology used to 3D-print micro-scale plastic parts.
It was sold alongside a microscope equipped with a digital display through which one can view the bag.
The inspiration for the microscopic bag, LV’s full-sized OnTheGo tote, retails at between US$3,100 and US$4,300.
The sale was hosted by Joopiter, an online auction house founded by US musician, record producer and designer Pharrell Williams. He currently serves as LV’s creative director for men’s wear.
According to Joopiter, the microscopic bag sold for US$63,750.
MSCHF’s chief creative officer Kevin Wiesner previously told the New York Times that the art collective did not seek Williams’ or LV’s permission to use its logo or design.
“Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag,” Mr Wiesner had told the newspaper.
He positioned the bag as a commentary on how impractical luxury handbags have become due to their increasingly shrinking sizes.
“I think ‘bag’ is a funny object because it derives from something rigorously functional,” he said in a previous interview. “But it has basically become jewellery.”
In the auction post for the tiny tote, MSCHF dubbed it “the final word in bag miniaturisation”.
The art collective was founded in 2016 and has become known for its projects that poke fun of, and also profit from, consumer capitalism.
The group was previously sued by Nike over its “Satan Shoes”. The modified Nike sneakers featured satanic symbols and drops of real human blood. That dispute was eventually settled out of court.
