At this time of year I am inundated with press releases for all of the upcoming fall art and design treats that make the end of summer more palatable (including fresh crops of books, fashion, toys, spirits, exhibitions, films, music and more). Each e-missive has a subject line written to grab the eye, and one in particular caught mine: WORLD-FAMOUS DESIGNER PARTNERS WITH LIDL TO CREATE ‘CROISSANT HANDBAG.’
Hmm. I like croissants in the same way Homer Simpson craves donuts. I also was intrigued to find out which of the dozens of world-famous designers was doing the partnering. I’ve never heard of LIDL, perhaps because I still buy my fashion accessories at Nordstrom Rack. So I did a little digging, and was interested to learn that the aforementioned designer was unknown to me.
Nikolas Bentel is a New York–based high-fashion designer and internet persona, and Nik Bentel Studio is a team of designers whose collective goal is to release limited-edition absurdist “performative objects.” These range from furniture to clothing to handbags to housewares and toys, often done as collaborations with other brands. LIDL is a German and U.K. supermarket chain, hence the leather simulated paper bag/handbag and croissant purse emblazoned with the corporate logo.
With 122 reportedly sold every minute, actual LIDL croissants “are a fan-favorite amongst shoppers.” The concept to celebrate that most iconic of LIDL’s bakery items as a limited-edition luxury leather bag was timed to launch just as the craze in the U.K. (of course) for quirky “social-media–breaking bags” hits a fever-pitched peak, “from the Harrods chip bag to the Moschino McDonalds bag.”
The leather croissant purse “comes complete with a golden zip and trolley coin, encased within a soft leather ‘bakery bag’ that marries the trendy roll-top clutch style with a traditional paper bag,” reads the press release announcing that “the limited-edition drop will be available to purchase for just £50 at 3 p.m. on Thursday 29th August via www.nikbentel.com, just in time for London Fashion Week, with all proceeds to be donated to children’s charities.”
I sensed that there is more to this baggatelle than a one-off leather pastry. Unable to reach Bentel for comment, I turned to Google, which proved that fun, absurd wit and raucous irony underscore his brand and practice. This includes the Nik Bentel De Cecco-esque pasta box handbags, picnic blanket–sized “I HEART NY” shirts, and meat cleavers made with NYC MetroCard and American Express blades.
(Coda: After putting this column to bed I was flabbergasted that upon closer perusal of the internet, I missed or had forgotten a perfectly good interview conducted last year with Bentel by Print‘s own Charlotte Beach (to know more, this is worth reading.)
Daily deadlines are killers.