Rabanne just debuted a £200k handbag at Paris Fashion Week - the world’s most expensive
Move over Birkin, there’s a new It-bag in town.
On Wednesday, French fashion house Rabanne debuted the world’s most expensive bag for its spring/summer 2025 collection.
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The brand, founded by Spanish designer Paco Rabanne, sent the metallic ‘Nano Bag’ down the runway, an event witnessed by front row attendees Cardi B, Ed Westwick and Camila Cabello during Paris Fashion Week.
Crafted from 18-karat gold, the iridescent accessory acted as a tribute to the famed, diamond-encrusted mini dress that the late designer crafted for Françoise Hardy in 1968.
The exquisite garment was made from one thousand gold plaques and inlaid with 300 carats of diamonds, making it the most valuable dress of the period. The fashion icon wore the bejewelled piece to promote a jewellery trade fair in Paris, arriving at the event in an armoured truck with a security escort due to the value of her attire.
Rabanne’s creative director Julien Dossena said that the bag required one hundred hours of work by Maison Rabanne, in collaboration with French artisan jeweller Arthus Bertrand. The splendid piece will be priced at €250,000 (circa £208,000), establishing the accessory alongside the Hermès Birkin as one of the most expensive bags in the world.
The house also debuted two other beautiful bag designs made in the brand’s heritage workshops. The handcrafted ‘1969 Glass Bag,’ made of Murano glass pastilles and the ‘1969 Ceramic Bag,’ constructed from ceramic discs by Astier de Villatte.
Metallics are a famed Rabanne house code. In the 1960s, the Spanish visionary revolutionised fashion with his avant-garde use of unconventional materials, especially metallics.
His debut collection in 1966, titled ‘12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials,’ showcased garments made from aluminium, plastic, and metal, challenging traditional notions of clothing. Rabanne's futuristic designs, often crafted from metallic discs, paillettes and chains, embodied a rebellious, space-age aesthetic, aligning with the era’s fascination with technology and the Cold War.
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His bold, experimental use of futuristic metallics set him apart, blending fashion with art and sculpture. Over the decades, Rabanne's innovative approach has continued to inspire boundary-pushing designs and avant-garde fashion, which the house champions to this day.
