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The world's most expensive handbag was showcased on the catwalk during Rabanne's spring/summer 2025 Paris Fashion Week presentation on September 25.
During the show, the French fashion house, founded in 1966, paid tribute to the late singer and style icon Françoise Madeleine Hardy by showcasing her prized 18-carat gold Nano bag as part of this season's ready-to-wear collection.
In 1969, Paco Rabanne made the famous French singer, who passed away recently in June, her own Nano disc shoulder bag. The famous Maison spent 100 hours working on the bag together with Arthus Bertrand, a French artisan jeweler.
Creative director Julien Dossena paid homage to Hardy's signature chainmail memento by pairing it with a plunging minidress in shimmering gold, metallic pointy heels and a pendant necklace in the new collection.
Priced at $279,000 or €250,000, the square-shaped bag is expensive, with a higher price tag than any other bag currently on the market, even the Hermès Birkin.
Birkin bags typically cost between $17,000 and $200,000, depending on size and year of manufacture.
According to Sotheby's, the most expensive bag ever sold was the Diamond Himalaya Birkin 30. This priceless piece, adorned with 18-carat white gold hardware and white diamonds, sold for $450,000 in 2022. The previous year, the Diamond Himalaya Birkin 25 sold for $300,000.
Sotheby's typically prices pre-owned vintage diamond Birkin bags at between $100,000 and $200,000. However, according to Women's clothing for everyday useHardy's handbag currently holds the top spot as the “most expensive handbag in the world.”
Rabanne and Hardy worked closely together over the years, as the couturier viewed the beautiful model as his muse and an influential figure to promote his inventive designs.
Trained in architecture, Rabanne was considered an avant-garde designer of his time, materializing design concepts in unusual materials such as metals, paper clips and foil, as if he were designing enlarged jewel casings for the body.
Dossena was inspired by a significant moment from Maison Rabanne's past when Hardy was photographed wearing a dress made from 1,000 pieces and 300 diamonds.
The 42-year-old designer and 2014 LVMH Prize finalist compared Hardy's look to a “precious treasure” and explained how she had emerged from an armoured truck surrounded by security as if she were an artefact being transported inside a museum.
Hardy passed away in June 2024 at the age of 80. The “Mon Amie La Rose” vocalist was suffering from laryngeal cancer.
The Nano 1969 bag, along with a Ceramic 1969 bag handcrafted from Astier de Villatte discs, and a Glass 1969 bag, crafted from Murano glass, will be available to order in the Rabanne boutique.
