John Galliano Tie–Dye Crocodile Detective Bag

John Galliano is the first person to successfully tie–dye crocodile leather.

His new Detective bag for Dior (above), set to retail for $18,240 and up this fall, will come in red, lilac and brown and will be available at select Dior boutiques.

Galliano says the bag is for both "the hippie chick that grew up and the classicist who's a rocker at heart."

Edwina Ings–Chambers of the Financial Times, one of the world's coolest fashion writers, wrote about Galliano's take on the bag this past weekend.

Here's her story:

John Galliano, creative director of Dior, is enjoying stirring up the luxury handbag market.

He's taken Dior's latest cult bag, the Detective, complete with lots of "pockets, which are perfect to hide your secrets in," made it in crocodile skin, and then tie–dyed it.

"We asked the technicians in the lab to research how it could be done as it has never been done before," says Galliano.

"We managed to make the tie–dye process take to the crocodile until it looked like the boho print I had in my head. I loved the idea of taking the irregular twists of tie–dye and using the technique on the most luxurious of fabrics — crocodile. I wanted to produce something you wouldn't expect and turn it into something cool and chic."

Once the technical side of things had been mastered, "the graduated colour skins were painstakingly folded into pleats, tightly bound and then dipped in the colour."

The Detective bag itself is quite structured.

Says Galliano: "When we designing it we looked at sports and equestrian accessories and the way they were constructed. I became fascinated by cricket balls and tight stitching became the base for the bag."

Each bag takes 100 pieces, is hand–assembled and comes in three sizes, with the largest containing a secret compartment "in which you can stow an overnight change" and the smallest "enough for day to night — as well as a pouch for your phone and a place for your passport."

The romantic interlude you have to find yourself.

Whoever carries one, insists Galliano, "is, like the tie–dye, utterly unique."

He hopes only that "as much care goes into filling it as the curves of the shell conceal."

Julie of Purseuing.com wrote that "your estimated time on the waiting list for this bag will be: 'A frickin' decade.'"

[via Purseuing, a very cool website "obsessively covering purses, bags, totes, clutches, and just about everything else you can carry on your shoulder"]

Except a chip.