Would you spend your dough on a handbag made of stale bread?

From French toast to croutons and breadcrumbs, there are all kinds of ways of turning stale bread into new dishes or ingredients while also avoiding food waste. However, you may not have expected to see it used to make a handbag. This is the idea of a fashion brand called Dauphinette, which presented its surprising BAGuette creation at New York Fashion Week.

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At first glance, the concept may seem crazy, but on closer inspection, it’s above all sustainable and responsible – a perfect way to wear your green credentials on your sleeve. The fashion house Dauphinette, which presented its spring-summer 2023 collection in September during New York Fashion Week, stood out from the crowd with the latest version of its it-bag made from “actual stale French bread.” The accessory has allowed this young New York label to create a real buzz on social networks, with no less than 1.8 million views and counting.

Founded in 2018 by Olivia Cheng, the Dauphinette brand has been known from the outset for its conceptual clothing, and its sustainable and ethical fashion, transforming dragon fruit and other plants into wearable attire thanks to an ecological resin. And the result is pretty impressive, it must be said. Just spend a few minutes browsing the brand’s e-store and you’ll discover a number of surprising items, like a strawberry chainmail top – made with real strawberries – earrings made from orange slices, or a tote bag made from 48 daisies.

And then, of course, there are the handbags in the form of bread loaves, baguettes and croissants presented during New York Fashion Week. On the e-store, you can already see one of the former versions of these unusual bags, the Daisy Bread Bag. Created in collaboration with the artist Yukiko Morita, this model was “crafted from real, surplus boule bread – baked, hollowed, and reimagined into a delightful purse …,” after having been “coated in an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, eco-friendly resin.” It’s a limited-edition piece that will certainly be a talking point at your upcoming parties.

If the accessory itself may seem strange, don’t forget that it forms part of an eco-responsible approach by the designer behind the brand who, not content with using sustainable materials, is also sending a strong message in the fight against waste – whether in food or clothing.