A teeny, tiny Louise Vuitton-styled handbag that can be seen only under a microscope has fetched an enormous price at auction.

The bag, which measures just 657 x 222 x 700 micrometres – and is “smaller than a grain of salt” – sold for $US63,750 ($96,320) in New York City earlier this week.

A micrometre, also known as a micron, is a metric unit of measure that is equal to 0.001 millimetres.

“Narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle, this is a purse so small you’ll need a microscope to see it,” Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF said.

The fluorescent yellowish-green bag is based on a popular Louis Vuitton design, although hit was designed by MSCHF.

The collective is known for known for its controversial designs, including shoes that contain human blood, trainers with holy water in the soles, a cologne that smells like WD-40, and giant red rubber boots.

This time, the collective decided to take the trend of small handbags to the extreme.

“There are big handbags, normal handbags and small handbags, but this is the final word in bag miniaturisation,” MSCHF said in a post about the bag.

A promotional photo reveals the minuscule design in great detail, including Louis Vuitton’s signature “LV” monogram. It is apparently based on the French label’s OnTheGo tote, which retails at full size for about $3100 ($A4700).

MSCHF’s Microscopic Handbag as it appears under a microscope.

MSCHF said its Microscopic Handbag was narrow enough to pass through the eye of a needle and smaller than a grain of sea salt. It was made using two-photon polymerisation, a manufacturing technology used to 3D-print micro-scale plastic parts.

The Smithsonian magazine reports that while it was being created, some of the tiny samples sent to be reviewed by Louis Vuitton were so small that they were lost by the MSCHF team.

The lime green collectors’ item was sold with the microscope that allows it to actually be seen.

The sale was hosted by Joopiter, an online auction house founded by American musician, record producer and designer Pharrell Williams.

Williams is Louis Vuitton’s creative director of menswear, but CNN reports that MSCHF’s chief creative officer Kevin Wiesner has previously said the collective did not seek permission from the French label or the musician to use its logo or design.

“Pharrell loves big hats, so we made him an incredibly small bag,” he said.

“We are big in the ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ school.”

MSCHF is no stranger to design controversies. In 2021, it sparked a row with Nike over its sale of modified trainers containing a drop of human blood, dubbed “Satan shoes”.

The resulting lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.

More recently, it has sold a range of cartoonish rubber boots, known as “Big Red Boots”. They became a viral sensation after being worn by stars such as Doja Cat, Iggy Azalea and Janelle Monáe.

-with agencies