A luxury handbag created using material derived from the prehistoric Tyrannosaurus rex failed to attract buyers at auction, with bids falling far short of expectations.
French auction house Drouot confirmed that the unusual item remained unsold after bids failed to approach its estimated value of more than US$500,000 (RM2 million).
Auctioneer Giquello had promoted the one-of-a-kind handbag as a groundbreaking fusion of luxury fashion and biotechnology. However, the highest offer reportedly struggled to reach US$150,000 (RM609,000), well below the reserve price.
The handbag was first unveiled in Amsterdam earlier this year and was developed using collagen traces extracted from a T-Rex femur discovered in Montana, United States, around 25 years ago.
Scientists involved in the project said advanced biotechnology techniques were used to cultivate cells capable of reproducing material based on the ancient dinosaur’s genetic remnants.
Palaeontologist Iacopo Briano, who was associated with the project, previously explained that researchers had spent years developing methods to grow cell cultures that could produce what he described as authentic T-Rex leather in a laboratory environment.
“In recent years, we developed biotechnology that allows us to cultivate cells and create, figuratively speaking, genuine T-Rex leather in the lab,” he said.
Briano noted that the material differs significantly from conventional vegan leather, which is often made from plastic-based compounds.
“In this case, it comes from cell cultures, meaning it is 100 per cent leather while also originating from an animal that became extinct around 67 million years ago,” he added.
The handbag generated global attention due to its unusual origins and futuristic manufacturing process, highlighting the growing intersection between biotechnology, luxury goods and sustainable material development.
Despite the publicity surrounding the project, the auction result suggests collectors may not yet be ready to pay a premium for products inspired by one of history’s most famous dinosaurs.
