The World’s Most Expensive Bag Makes Its Runway Debut

On Wednesday, Rabanne (you might remember it as Paco Rabanne) revealed what’s being called the ‘most expensive bag in the world’ at its spring 2025 show in Paris.

The metallic Nano bag, made from 18-carat gold, is a one-of-a-kind piece inspired by the minidress the late designer created for style icon and singer Françoise Hardy in 1968. That dress was crafted from 1,000 gold plaques and featured 300 carats of diamonds, making it the ‘most expensive dress’ of its time. Hardy, while attending a jewelry fair in Paris, had to be driven in an armored truck and surrounded by security because of it.

Back in 1969, Paco Rabanne created the special Nano disc shoulder bag for the French singer, who sadly passed away in June. The Maison teamed up with French jeweler Arthus Bertrand, putting in 100 hours of work to bring the bag to life.

Creative director Julien Dossena paid tribute to Hardy’s one-of-a-kind chainmail bag by styling it with a shiny gold, low-cut mini dress, metallic pointed-toe heels and a pendant necklace in the latest collection.

With a price tag of INR 2.33 crore ($279,000 or €250,000), this square-shaped bag tops the charts, even surpassing the cost of the Hermès Birkin.

The brand introduced two more notable accessories for this season’s ready-to-wear collection. One was the 1969 Glass Bag, made from glass pastilles by Venini, a renowned Italian glassworks company established in Venice in 1921.

The other was the 1969 Ceramic Bag, crafted from small clay discs by the Parisian workshop Astier de Villatte.