Scientists create world’s first ‘T-Rex leather’ handbag with $600k starting price

A handbag scientists claim is made from “T-Rex leather” is set to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with a starting bid of £500,000 (approx. $660,000).

The project was announced in 2025 by a group of companies aiming to create a “cruelty-free, eco-friendly” alternative to traditional leather using reconstructed dinosaur protein.

Handbag unveiled next to a life-size T-Rex specimen

According to the press release, fragments of T-Rex collagen recovered from fossils were used to help engineer the material, which was then grown in a lab without using animal hides.

The one-off bag was designed by techwear label Enfin Levé, with lead designer Michal Hadas saying the material “has a distinct character and responds unlike any leather we’ve worked with.”

Visually, the bag features a deep teal finish with three cuts across the surface designed to resemble claw marks.

The bag was unveiled at the Art Zoo Museum in Amsterdam on April 2, positioned beside a life-size T-Rex specimen. After a six-week exhibition, the bag will be auctioned and sold to the highest bidder with a starting bid of £500,000 ($663,000).

However, not everyone is convinced by the science behind it. University of Maryland palaeontologist Thomas Holtz Jr., in a statement made to Live Science, claimed that there are no DNA samples of T-Rex skin available to make collagen from. He said: “What this company is doing seems to be fantasy.”

For more on prehistoric species, check out our coverage of the new terrifying Spinosaurus species, or the teenager who found a six-inch-long Megalodon tooth.