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

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A handbag reportedly made from the skin of a Tyrannosaurus Rex is going up for auction, with bidding starting at around $660,000 (£500,000).

In 2025, a group of companies revealed plans for a new leather alternative. This innovative material would be both ethical and environmentally friendly, made from lab-grown proteins originally sourced from dinosaurs.

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

Scientists used pieces of collagen from T-Rex fossils to create a new material in the lab, avoiding the need for animal skin.

Techwear brand Enfin Levé created a unique bag using a material that, according to lead designer Michal Hadas, feels and behaves differently than any leather they’ve used before.

The bag is a deep teal color and has three indentations on its surface that look like claw marks.

The unique bag was revealed at Amsterdam’s Art Zoo Museum on April 2nd, displayed next to a full-size T-Rex skeleton. Following a six-week showing, it will be auctioned off, starting at a bid of £500,000 (around $663,000), to the person willing to pay the most.

Despite the excitement, some scientists are skeptical. Thomas Holtz Jr., a paleontologist at the University of Maryland, told Live Science that the claim relies on something that doesn’t exist – actual T-Rex skin DNA. He believes the company’s work is based on imagination rather than scientific fact.

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2026-04-05 15:18