MSCHF, the Brooklyn-based art collective, has debuted its latest project, a Frankenstein bag of sorts — a four-country collaborative effort serving as a commentary on the global supply chain and the perceived value of high-priced “it” bags.
MSCHF’s Global Supply Chain Telephone Bag is aimed at challenging the norms of consumer culture. The bag, the collective’s third, is an amalgamation of elements from iconic “It-bags” including the Hermès Birkin, Celine luggage bag, Dior saddle bag, and Balenciaga hourglass handbag, all stitched together in a witty critique of the current state of high fashion accessories and the monstrous supply chain involved.
Like all of its pieces, MSCHF’s approach to creation is deeply rooted in satire and social commentary. The Global Supply Chain handbag was developed through a collaborative effort across four countries, Peru, Portugal, India, and China, with each adding a distinctive twist to the design, making a statement on the creativity inherent in manufacturing processes. “One thing we’re always so amazed by is the creativity that comes out of the half of the process when producing an object [in a factory],” Kevin Wiesner, one of MSCHF’s chief creative officers, said in a statement. He says the bag highlights the gaps manufacturers are routinely filling in ad-hoc for their clients — often a byproduct of the fashion industry’s increasing demand. “They are creative problem-solving. This project is about protagonising them.”
Factories do a tremendous amount of creative work behind the scenes, says MSCHF, and the goal of Global Supply Chain Telephone was to use this “hidden creative labor” from the factory in the design process for the bag. “MSCHF has seen this over and over again with our shoe program and beyond, where problem-solving happens factory-side that we didn’t anticipate, or decisions come back from the factory that surprises us with an unexpected piece of problem-solving – even if it’s not always ‘good,’ it’s distinctly creative,” the company said.
The global apparel supply chain market size was valued at nearly $900 billion in 2021 and is growing at a 3.8 percent CAGR, which will see it pass the trillion-dollar mark before the end of the decade, according to Grandview Research. The fashion industry’s carbon footprint is also on the rise, already the second largest industrial polluter, accounting for ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Carbon Literacy Project. And according to a report from the Hot or Cool Institute, if our appetite for new fashion items doesn’t slow, the industry will be producing an estimated 2.7 billion tons of CO2e by 2030 — the equivalent of annual emissions produced by about 600 million cars.
MSCHF’s co-founder Lukas Bentel says that when the team is making objects, they’re really looking at making things for conceptual reasons like these. “MSCHF projects are performance art pieces and the objects are ‘artefacts’ of that performance, more than the singular end result.” Since its inception in 2016, MSCHF has evolved from a group of art students into a cultural phenomenon, backed by significant outside investment and a growing team.
Its projects, from the Persistence of Chaos to the controversial Satan shoes, have sparked conversations, outrage, and admiration, cementing its place as a provocateur in the digital age. Yet, amidst the irony and spectacle, MSCHF values projects with a meaningful impact, like Key4All, which fostered a unique sense of community among participants. This blend of humor, critique, and creativity hints at the enduring influence MSCHF might hold in reshaping our engagement with art, fashion, and consumerism.
The collective gained notoriety last year through its oversized, cartoonish Big Red Boots, reminiscent of footwear from animated characters like Astro Boy and Sonic the Hedgehog. The boots, embraced by celebrities such as Janelle Monáe, Lil Nas X, and Seth Rollins, marked MSCHF’s viral entry into the fashion discourse, further amplified by the launch of the Big Yellow Boot in collaboration with Crocs, featuring Paris Hilton in its campaign. Another of its projects, the 2023 miniature neon green Louis Vuitton, bag sold for $63,000.
MSCHF’s founders cite influences ranging from art prankster Maurizio Cattelan to pop artist Andy Warhol. The founders say they strive to intersect art with everyday life, pushing the boundaries of traditional gallery spaces with work that not only garners viral attention but also engages in broader dialogues, critiquing and celebrating aspects of contemporary culture. Here, the result is a bag that is identifiable in its mash-up of parts — Dior’s asymmetry, the Birkin flap, the Balenciagia’s curves. But the bag is also distinctly none of them, and in that, highlights the absurdity of our demand for products with both significant environmental and economic tolls. But even that comes with a price: $650, while supplies last.
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