Luxe brands are going to brand new heights to justified a car-sized price tag for a cat-sized handbag.

A New York state-based company has announced it will be adding genetic material to some high-end products.

Applied DNA Sciences, based in Stony Brook, N.Y., said it has reached an agreement to supply a European luxury goods company with DNA markers to protect its products from counterfeiters.

The company said the agreement was for a five-year period. Applied DNA would not identify the luxury company, saying only that it’s headquartered in Europe with several product lines.

“Proof of authenticity is a central tenet of brand integrity, and there is no better proof than DNA,” Applied DNA president and chief executive James Hayward said in a release.

Applied DNA uses botanic DNA, which cannot be copied. The processed DNA solution can be incorporated into fabrics, dyes or glues to create a unique genetic identity for the product.

Applied DNA said it will receive a fee for each authentication mark purchased and an additional fee each time it is called on to authenticate the product.

Source: Toronto Sun

The frail piece of coated canvas you see here is Fendi’s Paint-Your-Own Baguette. Retail price is $1,300. Now stop and take that in for a moment. I’ll wait…

Can you believe the utter gaul of these people? The Italian label is popularly known for it’s baguette, which is already rather overrated. And here they are, doing even less work (design, dye, etc.) and wanting 1300 of my hard earned dollars to own a piece of canvas with their logo on it. I am on the verge of outrage! Unless that bag get’s done up by Ray Caesar himself, it will never be worth that amount of cash. Hmph!