It was an eccentric fashionista’s worst nightmare. At a party during the recent finale of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jennifer Tilly’s crystal-encrusted, teddy-bear-shaped Gucci clutch crashed to the floor. “Ow! Ow! Mommy, it hurts!” cried Tilly, speaking for her injured minaudière, now missing a chunk from its glittering side.
It was a pricey accident. As a bystander at the scene noted in an instantly viral line, “That’s a $40,000 bear.” Damage to a rare novelty handbag is devastating to a collector, even one with Tilly’s expansive holdings. But if a similar tragedy befell this 2023 Chanel slot machine clutch, offered on 1stDibs by Rewind Vintage Affairs, one has to wonder if a small fortune wouldn’t spill out.
Chanel’s team seems to have been thinking along just those fanciful lines. The tray opening at the bottom of the clutch appears to be overflowing with gold coins stamped with the brand’s trademark double C, which jingle and bounce around on metal chains. The clutch itself is crafted from resin, trimmed and lined with leather and bejeweled with a rainbow of crystals, evoking both the loud luxury of a high-end casino and the whimsy with which Chanel has long imbued its evening bags.
The house’s creative director since December 2024, Matthieu Blazy has made a sensational impression with his own novelty designs — squirrels, poodles and giraffes, oh my! — carrying on the tradition Karl Lagerfeld began in the early 2000s. In reimagining the classic 1930s minaudière, crafted from precious metals, Lagerfeld saw an opportunity to introduce more tongue-in-cheek models. Taking the form of robots, rocket ships and Chanel perfume bottles, they became totems of coveted collections.
The Slot Machine clutch was introduced during the tenure of Virginie Viard, Chanel artistic director of fashion collections from 2019 until 2024, on the runway for the house’s 2023 Cruise line, staged in Monte Carlo. Viard, who spent decades working alongside Lagerfeld, honored the house codes in its design along with the late designer’s playfulness. The winning combination on the Chanel slot machine is a camellia, the number 5 and a four-leaf clover, referencing both the brand’s well-known symbols and Coco Chanel’s affinity for lucky charms. A large faux pearl crowns the clasp, a nod to Coco’s elevation of costume jewelry. The 2023 cruise collection also included racing-helmet and checkered-sphere bags, but the slot machine is a Chanel collector’s jackpot.
While winking at gambling, the shape of the bag is also an homage to Viard’s predecessor and mentor. In 2015, Lagerfeld staged one of his famous, immersive runway shows in an elaborate mock casino within the Grand Palais in Paris. Celebrities like Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart played “high rollers,” while the models, including Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner, sauntered around roulette tables in the season’s new couture. Perhaps it was a more controlled atmosphere than a Real Housewives party, or maybe Lady Luck was on their side, but no evening bags were harmed.
