Balenciaga is making headlines for releasing a $1790 bag that looks exactly like the plastic rubbish sack you can find underneath your sink. The bag in question is from the luxury label’s Fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection, which debuted during Paris Fashion Week in March. Dubbed the “trash pouch,” the drawstring bag is made out of calfskin and comes in four colorways: black, white, blue, and yellow.
“I couldn’t miss an opportunity to make the most expensive trash bag in the world, because who doesn’t love a fashion scandal?” Balenciaga creative director Demna (formerly Demna Gvasalia) told WWD in March.
— HIGH FASHION STRUGGLES (@hfstruggles) August 5, 2022
Indeed, it’s not the first time that the Georgian-born designer takes inspiration from inexpensive everyday objects and recontextualizes them into four-figure luxury items. Since taking the helm at Balenciaga in 2015, the designer’s work has been largely based on ironic humor while consistently challenging society’s accepted notion of what constitutes an item as luxury.
Who can forget the Balenciaga Blanket Square Bags, which looked quite literally like the fleece, floral duvets you would find at your grandma’s house and which retailed for nearly $4000?
There was also the highly-controversial $2000 IKEA bag, a leather version of the Swedish company’s $0.99 oversized blue tote.
While the new pouch is getting, excuse the pun, trashed online, one thing is for sure— Balenciaga sure knows how to get people talking.
