Rebecca Manzi Once again we didn't need it and once again we hear too much about it: it is the latest Louis Vuitton creation to go viral, a lobster-shaped bag sold for 18,000 dollars
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We thought we’d seen it all in the fashion world, but Louis Vuitton once again proves that there’s no such thing as crossing the line of absurdity. The French luxury house’s latest creation, designed by Pharrell Williams, is none other than a lobster-shaped handbag.
If you didn’t think the idea was weird enough already, wait until you hear the price tag: an astonishing $18,000 to carry around a high-end crustacean in your arm. Williams, creative director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections since 2023, keeps shocking with accessories that resemble more a strange food craving than a well-thought-out aesthetic choice.
Coming on the heels of the potato chip bag-style handbag and $3,000 sandwich plate (sans sandwich, of course), this “ecentric” salute to the world of angling comes courtesy of a visit Williams made to Japan with Nigo, creative director at Kenzo. The result? Something that straddles surrealism and sheer provocation.
The pursuit of attention no matter what the expense
Made from Vacchetta leather and featuring hyper-realistic embellishments, the Louis Vuitton Lobster Bag is an exact replica of the lobster’s claws, legs, and antennae yet maintains the brand’s iconic monogram. The real question is, did the world really need another hideous, exorbitantly priced handbag mocking the suffering of these creatures?
Naturally, the web’s reaction was swift. Between those who were mocking it and those who were negatively critiquing it, the Louis Vuitton Lobster Bag has already gone viral. And that is the message: again, the purpose was never to create a functional accessory but only to shock. In a time where fashion seems to be increasingly concerned with shocking rather than with pioneering, this latest entry into extreme luxury only works to confirm an already solidified trend.
If fashion truly wants to keep surprising, perhaps it should do so with ideas that have meaning beyond just the shock effect. But as long as there’s someone willing to drop $18,000 on a lobster-shaped purse, we’ll likely continue to see more outlandish and increasingly unnecessary accessories. After all, common sense has never been a must-have in the world of luxury.
