Louis Vuitton pumpkin bag sells for record-breaking $150,000

French fashion house Louis Vuitton, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and Christie’s New York auction house just made history, Robb Report reports.A limited-edition Louis Vuitton bag created in collaboration with Yayoi Kusama sold for $151,200 at Christie’s, setting two new world records.Kusama first began working with LV in 2012, creating playful versions of the Keepall, Neverfull, Papillion, and Speedy. Just over a decade later, in 2023, the contemporary artist has put her whimsical stamp on more of the French fashion house’s designs. Clothing and accessories from both collections sell for a premium on the secondary market, but it was the “pumpkin bag” from the latter collection that set new records.As the name suggests, the distinctive design was inspired by Kusama’s iconic pumpkin sculptures and prints. Made from grained cowhide, the yellow bag is shaped like a pumpkin and covered in black monograms and LV motifs. This particular piece was expected to sell for between $10,000 and $15,000, but sold for about 10 times that amount, setting a new price record for the model and any LV bag sold at auction. The previous records were set by another pumpkin bag, which sold for $44,100 at Christie’s in December 2023.The top lot of the auction was a rare Hermès Himalaya Retourné Kelly 25 with a matte Nilotic crocodile and palladium hardware, which sold for $163,800. Two coveted Hermès Birkins bags also went under the hammer for $119,700 and $63,000, respectively. The results highlight the fact that Birkins and Kellys remain holy grails for collectors, making solid investments that appreciate in value over time. A Retourné Kelly 28 bag in Himalayan crocodile skin sold for a record $513,200 at a Christie’s auction in 2021. Christie’s currently holds record prices for the most expensive Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci bags sold at auction.