Say Whaaat?: $20,000 Handbags

Talk about those with more money than sense - WWD has reported that there's been enough interest in Burberry's line of 'superluxe' bags to warrent waiting lists and an international trunk show series. The line, which includes styles like the Warrior, the Knight, the Manor and the Ashcombe clutch, is being rendered in materials like python and aligator - which apparently justifies price tags that rival those of most small cars. At least they're throwing in engraved nameplates and quilted leather boxes to sweeten the deal...

Burberry's certainly not the first label to foray into the superluxe arena - any exotic-skinned bag is sure to be massively expensive, and it's no secret that the aligator and croc versions of the Birkin, the B, and Coach's Bleeker all start at $20,000 a pop. What's shocking to me is that there seems to be such a demand for them. I mean, I'd always figured that they were just showpieces that labels released more for marketing purposes than anything else, with maybe a handful of buyers around the world - kind of like the $160 sandwich launched by Selfridges a few years back. But waiting lists and trunk shows? If this is, in fact, a publicity stunt, these PRs obviously have way too much time on their hands...

Is it just me, or would anyone else absolutely refuse to pay $20,000 for a bag - even if they had all the money in the world?