LOTS OF LOONINESS!

Discoloured teeth, royal undies and a holy Dorito - just some of the strange things that go under the hammer

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

IT'S so small it's practically invisible to the naked eye - but the price tag of this microscopic bag is anything but tiny.

It's smaller than a grain of sea salt and narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle", say its creators, the Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF. That's roughly 0,762mm wide.

Yet the teeny florescent neon-green bag bearing Louis Vuitton's signature monogram sold for a whopping $63 750 (R1,14m) at an online auction.

The Microscopic Handbag as it's been dubbed sold for more than four times its $15 000 (R270 000) asking price, and the unidentified buyer also received a microscope with a built-in digital display so they can admire their purchase.

Regular-sized Louis Vuitton bags are priced between $3 100 (R55 800) and $4 300 (R77 400). But Kevin Wiesner, MSCHF's chief creative officer, said they didn't get permission from Louis Vuitton to use its logo.

The Microscopic Bag was modelled after the luxury brand's OnTheGo tote-style bag and made with a specialised resin in a 3D printer used for making tiny biomechanical structures.

MSCHF which stands for "miscellaneous mischief" and specialises in creating impractical but buzzy items dismissed those who ridiculed their latest offering. Bags are much more than functional items, they say - it's more of a status symbol these days.

"There are big handbags, normal handbags and small handbags, but this is the final word in bag miniaturisation.

"As a once-functional object like a handbag becomes smaller and smaller its object status becomes steadily more abstracted until it's purely a brand signifier.

THIS isn't the first time the collective has created buzz-worthy fashion. Founded by former Buzzfeed staffer Gabriel Whaley (33) in 2016, MSCHF regularly makes headlines with its tongue-in-cheek stunt projects, poking fun at people and products all while making a profit.