Sotheby’s Is Auctioning Custom iPods from the Late Karl Lagerfeld’s Massive Collection

Behold, the BlingPod. Source: Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s is auctioning the estate of renowned designer Karl Lagerfeld. The auction house, which is auctioning the estate’s assets in multiple lots, includes several collections of classic iPods and custom iPods, like the ultra-blinged-out one above. The estate’s collection also includes these first-generation iPod Nanos that Parker Ortolani posted on Mastodon:

Source: Sotheby’s

Compared to Lagerfeld’s full collection, though, Sotheby’s selection is a drop in the bucket. It’s estimated that the designer owned over 500 iPods when he passed away. According to graphic novelist Warren Ellis’s website:

Lagerfeld famously had an “iPod nanny” to digitise his collection for the iPods and to add new music to new devices. This is how he ended up with over 300 of them – he treated them like cassette tapes.

Source: Sotheby’s.

I’m impressed with Lagerfeld’s commitment to the iPod long after all but the Touch was discontinued. There’s a lot to be said for single-purpose devices like the iPod. I’d love to see Apple bring the iPod back one day, even if it were just a limited run. But if they do, I hope they get weird with it and take inspiration from some of these great custom iPods from Lagerfeld’s collection.