Incredibly expensive handbags that cost more than an arm and a leg are nothing new -- remember Mouawad's $3.8 million 1001 Nights Diamond Purse and our personal favorite, the Olsen twins' $39,000 The Backpack?
But Jimmy Choo has thrown its hat -- er, bag? -- into the pricey purse ring with a rather unusual offering: a series of small panda bags clocking in at $15,000.
Created by Rob Pruitt, the clutches feature 11,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals and a detachable golden strap. But the most striking aspect of the pieces are Pruitt's use of his signature panda design. Forgive us for pointing it out, but the sparkly devil-and-angel panda figures are more reminiscent of a colorful Teletubby (we're thinking Po or Tinky Winky) than the real-life animal.
Jimmy Choo's creative directors tapped Pruitt, a New York-based visual design artist, to collaborate on the spring/summer 2012 capsule cruise collection earlier this year. “We were captivated by Pruitt’s energy, his computer screen use of color and the festive exuberance of his prints and materials; there were elements in his work that reminded us in subtle ways of the Jimmy Choo design iconography,” Jimmy Choo creative directors Sandra Choi and Simon Holloway told Vogue U.K..
According to ArtInfo, Pruitt incorporated "rainbow gradients with ice cream sprinkles" throughout the line of handbags, shoes and accessories, drawing inspiration from Nicki Minaj's style (a risky endeavor for any designer...).
Sound appealing? Act fast: the limited-edition handbags, described as the "ultimate expression of the artistic collaboration between Jimmy Choo and Rob Pruitt," are rarer than actual pandas: there are only 14 of each style in the world. Get 'em while they're... sparkly.
