Johannesburg - A microscopic handbag so tiny it requires a magnifying glass to see is set to go on auction this week.
The handbag, which is a miniature version of a Louis Vuitton OnTheGo tote and has been downsized to incredibly small dimensions, was officially announced last week.
And according to several reports, its purpose is to “satirise the trend of shrinking handbags, where practicality is sacrificed for fashion.”
The New York Times reported that the fluorescent green bag is small enough to pass through the eye of a needle and will come with a microscope so the buyer can see it.
The upcoming release of the mini handbag was announced by MSCHF, a product design studio known for its viral launches. It is set to debut at an event hosted by Pharrell Williams' auction house.
The New York Times added that the mini handbag measures just 657 by 222 by 700 micrometres, making it smaller than a grain of sea salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle.
From afar, the fluorescent green bag looks like a radioactive poppy seed or a fragment of a sprinkle. Only when it is magnified are its translucent handles and Louis Vuitton monogram clearly visible.
The New York Times quotes Kevin Wiesner, the chief creative officer of MSCHF, who explained that the microscopic bag has been positioned as a commentary on the impracticality of ever-shrinking luxury handbags.
“I think ‘bag’ is a funny object because it derives from something rigorously functional,” he was quoted as saying. “But it has basically become jewellery.”
Wiesner added that MSCHF aimed to extend that trend to its logical conclusion by stripping away all of the bag’s utility, leaving nothing but a brand signifier. “It is the final word in bag miniaturisation,” MSCHF said in a statement.
The New York Times report added that MSCHF had been discussing the idea of a miniature handbag for several months.
In order to create it, they approached several industrial manufacturers that specialise in biotechnology. The bag was then created out of resin through a process called two-photon polymerization, a kind of 3-D printing for microscopic objects.
Wiesner explained to The New York Times that The OnTheGo style was chosen because its design — a simple rectangle with a prominent logo — could be reproduced legibly at such a small scale.
The report added that its bright colour and slight translucence are intended to make it more visible when lit from below on a microscope slide.
And according to MSCHF, the bag will be sold in a sealed gel case pre-mounted beneath a microscope with a digital display.
Wiesner said that when the microscopic bag is auctioned, he hopes its owner will not treat it with too much reverence. “I almost hope somebody eats it,” he told The New York Times.