This fashion house is taking home gold in Paris.
Rabanne debuted what has been hailed as the world’s “most expensive bag,” made from over 100 18-karat gold medallions, at Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday.
The one-of-a-kind handcrafted 1969 Nano bag is worth €250,000, or nearly $280,000, and took 100 hours to create in collaboration with the French jeweler Arthus Bertrand, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
“In a perfect fusion of our two houses, I immediately had the vision of the Rabanne pastille twisted into a medal,” Arthus Bertrand’s artistic director Camille Toupet said in a statement.
It’s unclear if it will be for sale or if multiple have been made. The Post has reached out to Rabbane, now owned by Puig, for comment.
The metallic handbag — debuted as part of the spring/summer 2025 collection — is a nod to the fashion house’s “most expensive dress,” crafted in 1968 for French singer Françoise Hardy, who died earlier this year.
In 1968, she donned the heavy medallion gown, which was made from 1,000 gold tiles and 300 carats of diamonds, with a full security escort and an armored vehicle “like a precious treasure,” Rabanne’s creative director Julien Dossena told WWD.
Paco Rabanne, who founded the house in 1966 and is widely lauded as an innovator of “space-age fashion,” was known for his experimental designs with unconventional materials such as paper, plastic and metals, launching his atelier with a collection of one dozen “unwearable dresses.“
At Wednesday evening’s runway show — which saw rapper Cardi B sitting front row and Gigi Hadid strutting the catwalk — the spring/summer 2025 collection incorporated that same playfulness with unusual textiles in its accessories, with leather bags covered in clear, rigid plastic and pumps enveloped in the same transparent fabric.
Meanwhile, some pieces paid homage to the iconic metalwork with pieces made from sparkling, triangular panels or garments covered in metal studs.
In addition to the gold 1969 Nano, Rabanne also debuted two new handbags for its spring/summer 2025 collection — a 1969 Ceramic Bag, comprised of ceramic discs from Astier de Villatte, and a 1969 Glass Bag, made of Murino glass medallions by the Venice glassmaker Venini. They will be available to order at the Paris Rabanne boutique.
“They were really exceptional pieces to work with,” Dessona told WWD.
