Barneys has taken the humble carabiner to the next level, as they say, with a sterling silver version (right) which retails for $275. The going rate for one that’s not made out of a precious metal is about $8 at the mid-range.
Caribiners have been a staple of hipster male fashion for years (“Keeping Their Keys in Their Pockets” was a 2010 entry in the then-popular Tumblr, Stuff Hipsters Hate), but were initially created for climbing sports, construction and industrial work.
The appropriation of these items as key rings by bougie city-dwellers has attracted some criticism, because it’s seen as a disingenuous way of invoking working class authenticity for people who are neither working class in the traditional sense, nor particularly authentic.
And now it’s only a matter of time before Barneys figures out how to sell handcrafted Murano glass Mason jars.
Related: The Paris Review Is Now Selling Branded Swim Trunks at Barneys (In Collaboration with Orlebar Brown)
