Let us introduce you to the micro-purse, the handbag that is "smaller than a grain of sea salt", designed by MSCHF.
A few months ago, it became widely received that big bags were going to be the trendiest handbags of 2023. HBO's Succession introduced us to the "ludicrously capacious" bag, for example, and we've seen the likes of Kendall Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, and other A-listers carrying around massive tote and hobo bags for months - signaling that big bags, a practical and chic choice, were going to be synonymous with 2023.
Art collective brand MSCHF begs to differ, however, as they have recently designed a bag that is pretty tiny. And we don't mean "over the shoulder" tiny or "only fits your phone" tiny. We mean "can only be seen with a microscope" tiny.
As part of an auction songwriter Pharell will be hosting in Paris next week, MSCHF has created a lime green bag that is "smaller than a grain of salt" which will be able to be bid on.
MSCHF posted an image of the bag, which features Louis Vuitton emblems when looked at closely. "Next week, our newest art piece will go on auction in Paris during fashion week," the post's caption begins.
Then, the brand continues to describe the inspiration behind the art piece, and what makes this item so unique.
"Smaller than a grain of sea salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, this is a purse so small you'll need a microscope to see it," MSCHF notes.
"There are big handbags, normal handbags, and small handbags, but this is 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," the caption finishes.
The Microscopic Vuitton Handbag by #MSCHF takes the tiny-purse trend to the extreme. To see it, you’ll need a microscope. https://t.co/Uif0BJ6CRbJune 14, 2023
Upon writing about the news, a journalist covering the piece for the New York Times begs the question: "What is this? A handbag for ants?"
In the brand's original Instagram folks, viewers can see the lime green bag placed onto a human finger - but you can only see it if you truly focus your eyes on the microscopic neon speck placed in the middle of the finger pad.
And if you were thinking the brand MSCHF sounds familiar, your mind was not playing tricks on you - they're the same brand who created those cartoonish red boots (they are literally called Big Red Boots) everyone was wearing for New York Fashion Week a few months ago.
Although this bag, in theory, is purely made to serve as a piece of art, folks are making some pretty hilarious comments about it.
"Spirit Airlines still be like 'you need to check this bag,'" one person commented under the Instagram photo.
"I’m gonna steal it and eat it so no one can have it," another person said. Don't you just love the internet?
