BTS has made a name for themselves in the fashion industry, so it comes as no big surprise that they’re launching self-designed garments and accessories as part of their artist-made collection. But well-made merch is a blessing and a curse for a fandom as big as ARMY. Less than a minute after V’s Mute Boston Bag went on sale today, Jan. 11, it got sold out. Hybe, we’re in need of a restock pronto.
Prior to the launch, V’s collection was already in high demand. The self-designed collection includes a leather Boston bag with a floral satin ribbon and three brooch sets. In Japan, the collection had already been sold out through pre-orders a day before. Several fans reported that the bag got sold out on the Weverse Shop a second or two after the launch.
A number of fans who weren’t lucky enough to get their hands on the merch shared their disappointment. “Sigh…I didn’t make it. The bloodbath was real, everything sold out in less than 1 minute!” tweeted known ARMY Lea Salonga. “So excuse me, I’m just going to cry in a corner to get over this heartbreak.”
The behind-the-scenes making vlogs and product showcases shot by BTS added to the hype. In his vlog, V said about the bag, “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about ARMY. I was thinking about myself when I designed it. Please look forward to it and I’ll carry it around a lot.” Guess he didn’t expect how much ARMYs were willing to spend for it. The Mute Boston Bag retails for $153.28 (about P7,800). The Cloud Drops and Faces brooch sets cost $32.51 each while the Flower Buddies set is priced at $43.80. All the brooch designs were drawn by V himself.
While the original prices are already pretty high for some ARMYs, a number of resellers have already been reportedly price gouging. Salonga tweeted a video of posts by resellers offering the products for triple the original price. One publication reports that an eBay listing that got taken down tried to resell the Mute Boston Bag for $12,900. Who can blame fans for getting furious at these scalpers?
Before V’s, Hybe released Jin and RM’s respective artist-made collections. The next collection scheduled for release is SUGA’s on Jan. 13.
Photo courtesy of Hybe Merch
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