On Wednesday, a ‘microscopic’ Louis Vuitton-inspired handbag, measuring less than 0.03 inches wide or 657 by 222 by 700 microns, sold at auction for $63,000. It is unconfirmed if the buyer was an ant or if Zoolander declared it must be three times this size.
While the fluorescent green bag is based on a popular design from Louis Vuitton, it was created by a New York art collective. The Brooklyn-based art group MSCHF has named the piece the “Microscopic Handbag.
The bag is reportedly so small that it could pass through the eye of a needle and is even smaller than a grain of sea salt, depending on how coarse it is, MSCHF shared.
MSCHF made the handbag using two-photon polymerization, a technology often used in 3D printing when making small plastic parts.
The handbag was sold alongside a microscope equipped with a digital display that allows the buyer to view the bag. In the close-up image of the microscopic bag, the detail and design can be seen, including the signature “LV” monogram.
The bag looks like it was inspired by the famous designer’s OnTheGo tote, which, at full size, retails for as much as $4,300.
The online auction house Joopiter hosted the sale of the bag.
MSCHF Chief Creative Officer Kevin Wiesner shared with The New York Times that it had not asked permission from the French label to use its logo or design.
The art group has been in hot water before, most notably when it created the “Satan Shoes.” The shoes resulted in the group being sued by Nike after it modified a pair of the company’s sneakers to feature satanic symbols and drops of real human blood. The two sides settled out of court.
More recently, the headlines surrounding the art group have been positive, as it recently went viral with its pair of “Big Red Boots” that featured a cartoonish style and were donned by top influencers and stars.
As for the tiny handbag, the company shared in its auction listing that the fashion industry has always loved small bags so much that they often carry no use other than being a “brand signifier.”
“Previous small leather handbags have still required a hand to carry them — they become dysfunctional, inconveniences to their ‘wearer,’” the statement added. “‘Microscopic Handbag’ takes this to its full logical conclusion. A practical object is boiled down into jewelry, all of its putative function evaporated; for luxury objects, usability is the angels’ share.”
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