French luxury brand Balenciaga has sparked controversy by launching a clutch bag shaped like a disposable paper cup, priced at over 8 million won.
On the 1st (local time), according to the British Guardian, Balenciaga recently unveiled the '9AM Coffee Cup Clutch Bag.' It is designed to resemble a disposable coffee cup, made of calf leather with the Balenciaga logo embossed on it. The lid is secured with a hinge.
This bag, released as part of Balenciaga's surreal design series, is being sold for $5,750 in the U.S. and £4,350 (approximately 8.33 million won) in the UK. The selling price in South Korea has been set at 8.07 million won. Foreign media likened the new product to "the most expensive coffee in the world that cannot be sipped even once."
The bag gained attention when it was spotted being held by Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, at a recent public event. As the fact that the bag shaped like an ordinary coffee cup is a high-priced luxury item became known, consumers expressed mixed reactions.
In a fashion community, comments included, "This bag, which is just a cup shape without a shoulder strap, looks ridiculous," "I might accidentally throw it away," and "I'd rather carry a Starbucks cup than spend 8 million won on that bag." There were also criticisms that the bag, measuring 18.5 cm in height and 10.9 cm in width, cannot even hold a smartphone due to its round shape.
Balenciaga has previously applied unique designs to bags. It released a clutch bag shaped like a potato chip bag for about 2.9 million won and launched a bag modeled after an IKEA shopping bag for about 2 million won.