Jane Birkin’s original Hermès bag sells for over $10 million at auction
The original prototype Hermès Birkin bag that belonged to the now-iconic accessory’s inspiration, the actor and singer Jane Birkin, sold for over $10 million at a Sotheby’s auction on Thursday in Paris.
The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, marks the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s.
"The Original Birkin bag is a true one-of-a-kind — a singular piece of fashion history that has grown into a pop culture phenomenon that signals luxury in the most refined way possible," Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of handbags and fashion, said in a statement accompanying the listing.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R14e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R24e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeBidding on the famed bag during the Fashion Icons auction began at $1.1 million, and rose on advanced bids to $1.5 million before going to the room.
In the span of a minute, the price rose to more than $3.2 million, continuing to escalate for about eight more minutes until the bag hit its final $10.1 million price.
Jane Birkin’s prototype Hermès Birkin bag, which sold for over $10m at auction on Thursday, inspired a line of bags now considered some of the most valuable and desired in the world (AFP/Getty)The origin of the Birkin, whose highly coveted modern-day iterations retail between $20,000 to over $100,000, is the stuff of fashion legend.
During an Air France flight in the early 80s, Birkin and her young daughter Charlotte happened to be seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, then the artistic director of Hermès.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1ae4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ae4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeAs she attempted to put her things in an overhead compartment, her possessions came tumbling down, and she and the designer soon got to talking about her need for a bag large enough to hold all her possessions.
Inspiration for the famed Birkin bag came when its namesake actress told a Hermès designer she needed something large enough to hold all her possessions on the go (PA)“I said: ‘Why don’t you make a bag that’s sort-of four times the [size of the] Kelly that you could just leave open and sort of half the size of my suitcase?’” Birkin said in a 2020 interview.
“He said: ‘well, draw it for me.’ And I think I drew it on the sick bag, a vomit bag in the airplane.”
By 1985, Hermès had created a prototype of the bag in that sketch, and Dumas offered it to Birkin for free if he could name it after her.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1ge4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ge4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeSince then, the bag has become a feverishly sought after sign of wealth and insider taste, as well as the subject of a famous 2001 episode of Sex and the City and a 2008 bestseller, Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag.
Birkin bags, delivered to select retailers in limited quantities, frequently fetch five and six-figure prices (iStock/The Independent)New bags are given in limited supply to select retailers, driving sky-high demand and a thriving resale market.
The bag sold at auction on Friday differs from those on the arms of celebs incuding Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham.
It features a shoulder strap that was never included in the commercial version, and gilded brass hardware from Éclair rather than gold-plated accents from Riri, which have adorned Birkins since the 90s.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1ne4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2ne4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeBefore being sold in Paris, the bag — known as The Original Birkin — belonged to Catherine Benier, a private collector and founder of the Paris vintage boutique Les 3 Marches, who bought it in 2000.
It has previously been exhibited at world museums including the Victoria & Albert in London and New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Birkin donated the bag to a charity auction in the 90s.
The singer, who became representative of chic Parisian style in the 70s, died in 2023 at age 76.
