- Balenciaga is selling a $1,790 trash bag as part of its fall collection.
- The "Trash Pouch" first turned heads after making its debut on the runway at Paris Fashion Week in March.
Balenciaga has never been shy to push boundaries, but the edgy luxury brand may have taken it to new extremes with its $1,790 trash bag.
Dubbed the "Trash Pouch," the drawstring calfskin bag officially hit stores as part of Balenciaga's fall collection after it first turned heads on the runway at Paris Fashion Week in March. The launch of the bag — which comes in typical garbage-bag colors like black and white, as well as blue and yellow — is drawing newfound scorn on the internet, where users are again scoffing at the ostentatious product.
"It looks exactly like a Hefty bag you'd use in your kitchen trash," one user wrote.
"Balenciaga has a trash bag for sell for $1,795. I think designer fashion is a morbid social experiment," wrote another.
The bag first drew attention after it was gifted to Kim Kardashian following the March runway show. In an Instagram story showing off the bag, Kardashian wrote, "Look what I got. I got the 'trash bag' bag from the show. I am so excited. "How cool is this?"
This isn't the first time a Balenciaga product has sparked controversy, thanks to its penchant for loftily priced utilitarian products. In 2017, the brand debuted a $2,145 tote designed in the style of Ikea's large, blue 99-cent shopping bags. More recently, the company spurred eye rolls with its partnership with Crocs, selling versions of the shoe that retail for upwards of $950.
"I couldn't miss an opportunity to make the most expensive trash bag in the world, because who doesn't love a fashion scandal?" Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia told Women's Wear Daily in March.