The MSCHF Microscopic Handbag is up for auction
Based on the Louis Vuitton OnTheGo tote, the MSCHF Microscopic Handbag is set to break the internet once again as the Brooklyn-based art collective creates another astounding piece of “wearable” art following the release of their Big Red Boots. Except this time, you won’t be able to rock the handbag unless you’re the size of Ant-Man.
The semi-translucent MSCHF Microscopic Handbag is smaller than a grain of sea salt, measured at 657 by 222 by 700 micrometers. According to MSCHF’s chief creative officer Kevin Wiesner, the bag was designed as a critique of how expensive handbags are getting smaller. What was previously intended to be practical has evolved into an item used more for show.
“Previous small leather handbags have still required a hand to carry them,” stated MSCHF. “They become dysfunctional, inconveniences to their wearer. 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.”
The $4,000 OnTheGo silhouette was selected for its straightforward rectangle shape, pronounced branding, and mild translucence, which makes the bag easier to see when held up to a microscope. Obviously, MSCHF didn’t consider requesting approval from Louis Vuitton before moving forward.
MSCHF contacted a number of industrial biotechnology manufacturers for the microbag’s creation. In the end, a microscopic 3D printing technique called two-photon polymerization was used to create the bag from resin. The final piece will be delivered in a sealed gel box positioned beneath a microscope with a digital display, providing a view of the microbag.
The MSCHF Microscopic Handbag will only be available on June 19 at Sarah Andelman’s Just Phriends auction.