Where'd the money go? Miniscule handbag sells for P3.5 million
Known for its zany and wacky fashion creations, Brooklyn-based art collective group MSCHF has sold its smallest creation, called the Microscopic Handbag, for a whopping $63,750 or P3.5 million.
CNN reported that the minuscule handbag measuring 657 by 700 micrometers was sold at an online auction on Wednesday.
Said to be smaller than a grain of sea salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, the fluorescent green bag is based on the luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s OntheGo tote bag. Louis Vuitton’s full-scale version retails for between $3,100 (P172,000) to $4,300 (P240,000)—a far cry from its tiny counterpart.
MSCHF's Microscopic Handbag was created using two-photon polymerization printing methods. The bag comes with its own microscope which also features a built-in digital display, showcasing the microscopic bags' details.
The sale was hosted by Joopiter, an online auction house founded by American Grammy award-winning artist and current Louis Vuitton creative director for menswear, Pharell Williams. MSCHF’s chief creative officer Kevin Wiedner previously told the New York Times that the collective had not sought his or the French label’s permission to use its logo or design.
This isn’t the first time that the Brooklyn-based art collective group has mocked brands. It previously made “Birkinstock” sandals that were made from Birkin bags and more recently a big yellow cartoonish-looking crocs.
In a statement published on the Joopiter auction listing, MSCHF called the bag “the final word in bag miniaturization. As a once-functional object like a handbag becomes smaller and smaller its object status becomes steadily more abstracted until it is purely a brand signifier.”