When MSCHF revealed its teenie microscopic handbag for JOOPITER on June 15, it had everyone asking: why?
At less than 0.03 inches wide and barely visible to the naked eye, the bag — which is actually a remarkably accurate rendering of a Louis Vuitton OnTheGo handbag — was just one of a number of mad items up for auction during Pharrell’s JOOPITER “Just Phriends” sale.
With no real idea of the actual value of a handbag smaller than a grain of rice, it was anyone's guess as to how much the bag would sell for. Still, no one expected this. Buckle up.
Following the sale’s conclusion on June 27, a final list of sale prices were revealed for some of the most stand-out items, including MSCHF’s lil’ handbag, which sold for a staggering $63,750 USD.
Yup, that’s almost $65k on a bag the same width as a strand of human hair, and something you literally cannot see without a microscope handy. It's also over four times the amount of my IRL car (a Renault Kadjar, for those wondering).
Other big money sales 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.
The "Just Phriends" sale — which was curated for Pharrell's JOOPITER auction house by colette co-founder Sarah Andelman — took place during Paris Fashion Week Men’s amidst an array of other Pharrell-centric happenings.
For starters, the musician-turned-designer showed his debut Louis Vuitton collection as the house’s new creative director, that before unveiling a forthcoming Humanrace x adidas Samba capsule, and attending more PFW shows than near-on any editors.
Even when Pharrell wasn’t the star of the show he garnered headlines with his $1 million USD Louis Vuitton bag and custom Tiffany & Co. sunglasses.
Still, as mad as all that is (and it is really mad), nothing quite prepared me for someone to purchase a teenie miniature handbag for almost $65,000 USD. But then again, it is fashion, darling. What did I expect?