Last week, NYC-based style rogues Mschf revealed its latest item set to poke fun at the fashion world—the Mircoscopic Handbag— made for Pharrell Williams’ Joopiter “Just Phriends” luxe auction. This week the item, measuring just 0.03 inches wide, sold for AED 234,125.
So, what is the Microscopic Handbag?
It’s actually a rendering of Louis Vuitton’s OnTheGo handbag, and comes in vivid green. At least it would if you could see it. The bag is approximately the size of a grain of dust. Truth is, you can’t get much in it.
OK, and, erm, why?
The team at Mschf—who only this week teased their Big Yellow Boot at Paris Fashion Week—released the bag as a statement on luxury bags and the extreme lengths that people will actually go to get them on their arm. “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,” said a Mschf spokesperson. “Previous small leather handbags have still required a hand to carry them—they become dysfunctional inconveniences to their wearer.”
Tell is about the Joopiter “Just Phriends” auction
Not content with dominating Paris Fashion Week with his debut Louis Vuitton show, the second iteration of Joopiter, this year, curated by Sarah Andelman and entitled “Just Phriends” it’s a global, digital-first auction spanned 71 lots, including fine art, fashion, jewellery, furniture and other design objects.
Any other big sales?
Prices were revealed after the auction closed on June 27. Aside from tiny bags, other sales of note included a Louis Vuitton x Virgil Abloh Dream House Window Mannequin ($65,000), “Portrait of an English Lady” by George Condo ($1,050,000), Pharrell Williams x Richard Mille RM 65-01 ($481,250), and a Lewis Hamilton x Takashi Murakami F1 Grand Prix Helmet ($387,500), amongst others.