The iconic Hermès Birkin bag was turned into a 40-weeks-pregnant NFT

Hermès’ Birkin bag is one of the most covetable designer items out there — so covetable that artists Mason Rothschild and Eric Ramirez have decided to turn the iconic purse into an NFT. With a design exclusive to the virtual bag, the duo says the NFT version is rarer than any physical handbag. The intangible purse, however, is definitely not as covetable thanks to said design.

Taking its name literally, the virtual bag is transparent, featuring a 3D animation of it 40 weeks pregnant with a child. The baby even moves around the bag as it “grows” over time. Apparently, the fetus is supposed to represent an ironic interpretation of the purse known for its exclusivity, but how is unclear. To further add confusion to the theme, the pregnant bag NFT is accompanied by a “space-themed” sound.

Expectant and exclusive — Part of what makes Birkin bags so sought after is the fact that they are hard to secure in the first place. With price tags ranging from $8,500 to $2 million, the designer purses are pretty unaffordable. Unless you’re a Kardashian or other high-profile celebrity, Birkins also take months or even years to obtain — they can’t be ordered online and ordering one in-store requires consumers to remain on a waiting list.

Hermès is well aware of the demand for its Birkin, intentionally limiting the number of bags made and sold. So, given the ridiculousness of the Birkin in the first place, we suppose this NFT design should come as no surprise. But still, why choose to insert a fetus into a bag? Who thought of this?

Thanks to artists Mason Rothschild and Eric Ramirez, we now all know what a pregnant Birkin looks like. As for why they created the graphic design, Rothschild told Highsnobiety that they wanted to transform the Baby Birkin — a miniature model of the Birkin owned by equally miniature North West — into a literal translation. That’s it.

You could be the mother of this Baby Birkin — If you’ve somehow got money to burn on a virtual Birkin, the unsettling 2000 × 2000 pixel animation is being sold on the members-only e-commerce platform Basic.Space. As of now, 25 bids have been placed on Baby Birkin, with the highest at $13,500 — a bargain if you’re considering the average IRL Birkin cost. Bidding is open until May 20.

You may not be able to flex on the poor by toting your Baby Birkin around, but nothing really says you’re rich like spending a ridiculous amount of money on something weird, unnecessary, and intangible. Just a heads up, though, this pregnant Birkin is not the flex you think it is.