Virgil Abloh joins luxury marques in online auction Bid for the Louvre

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Dec 1, 2020

Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh has unveiled a custom-made iteration of its classic 2.8 Jitney handbag, in support of Bid for the Louvre, a funding project featuring many luxury brands that is being organized by Christie’s auction house.

Conceived as a work of art and a collector’s item, this women’s handbag draws inspiration from the Louvre Pyramid, honoring the iconic structure designed by architect I.M. Pei in the late 1980s. A slew of key prestige brands are also contributing to the online auction including Christian Dior, Vacheron Constantin, The Hotel Ritz,  Cartier and Louis Vuitton, where Abloh is the menswear designer. The auction debuts tomorrow.

In Off-White’s cases, the highest bidder will not only win the one-of-a-kind bag but also be invited to an upcoming Off-White runway show in 2021.

Proceeds of the unprecedented online auction will be entirely devoted to projects in support of the Musée du Louvre and The Louvre Studio, a new space dedicated to artistic and cultural education that will open in the Fall of 2021.

Prizes vary from rare art pieces, like a Pierre Soulages painting, with a starting estimate of €800,000, to a chance to experience the Mona Lisa outside her display case with a low price of €10,000. A bespoke Vacheron Constantin time piece has an upper estimate of €300,000 euros, while Cartier Panthere bracelet has an upper range of €60,000. Vuitton’s bespoke carrying case, which will contain your own custom-designed fragrance, has an upper range of €50,000, while a miniature dress in a trunk from Dior’s latest couture collection has an upper estimate of €40,000.

Abloh’s contribution, a Jitney 2.8, is made in fine, silver Italian calfskin leather and artisanal applications of rectangular sequins.

“This special contribution signifies Virgil Abloh’s ongoing enthrallment with the landmark museum, following the Off-White Louvre capsule collection which launched in December of 2019, paying homage to polymath artist Leonardo da Vinci,” Off-White said in a release.

The Bid for the Louvre catalogue of the sale is available on both the Christie’s and Drouot websites (christies.com; drouot.com and drouotdigital.com). The auction will be held on Christie’s platform from Dec. 1-15, 2020.