A tiny knockoff Louis Vuitton handbag sold for $63,750 at auction earlier this week.
The green bag, made by the New York-based art collective MSCHF, measures in at 657 by 222 by 700 micrometers ― “smaller than a grain of salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle,” the collective described in an Instagram post.
The bag was on display in Paris earlier this month mounted under a microscope, according to Vogue.
It acts as a commentary on “the impracticality of ever-shrinking luxury” handbags, MSCHF’s chief creative officer Kevin Wiesner told The New York Times.
“I think ‘bag’ is a funny object because it derives from something rigorously functional,” Wiesner said. “But it has basically become jewelry.”
MSCHF has made waves in recent years for a number of unusual creations, such as its Big Red Boots and its Satan Shoes with Lil Nas X.
The microscopic handbag was sold at Joopiter, an auction house founded by Louis Vuitton men’s designer and music producer Pharrell Williams. Wiesner told The Times that the art collective hadn’t asked for permission to use the Louis Vuitton logo or design.
“We are big in the ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ school,” said Wiesner, whose art collective has dealt with legal issues over some of its pieces.
“Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag,” he said.