Jane Birkin’s Original Hermès Bag Sells At Auction For $10 Million
The first ever Birkin bag created by Hermès for British actor and singer Jane Birkin was recently sold for $10 million (€8.6 million), becoming the most expensive handbag to be sold at auction.
Before the iconic Hermès bag became the face of luxury, it was used by Jane everyday from 1985 to 1994. This month, her bag was sold by auction house Sotheby’s in an online sale of notable luxury fashion including pieces designed by Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior.
When CNN reached out to the auction house they declined to give an estimate of the original Birkin before the auction took place, but advanced bidding already broke records reaching roughly $1,155,000 (€1 million). The audience at the auction was engaged and shocked as the price continuously increased.
The bidding lasted around 10 minutes among nine collectors. According to a press release from Sotheby’s, the auction ended with a private collector from Japan winning the bag.
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and accessories stated that this “historic sale is an important milestone” when it comes to the history of fashion.
“It is a startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance,” she said in the press release.
“The sale of the Original Birkin is also, ultimately, a celebration of the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin.”
Birkin bags have long held the record for being the most expensive handbags sold at an auction. In 2022, Sotheby’s sold a white-diamond-studded Diamond Himalaya Birkin for over $450,000. In 2021, Christie’s sold a crocodile-skin version for around $390,000.
The previous record for most expensive handbag sold was a diamond and crocodile Kelly Birkin bag for $513,040.
Jane Birkin initially sold her bag in 1994 to benefit AIDS research, and since that point it’s changed hands multiple times. It made public appearances in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The last time it was up for auction was 25 years ago by someone who went by Catherine B to Sotheby’s.
At the time, Catherine B said that the sale made her “relive [her] own bidding battle, and how raw and indescribable the feeling of winning over the wonderful bag was.”
Jane Birkin passed away in 2023 when she was 76-years-old. At the time, she joked to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that people would remember her the most for her style and for sporting one of the most recognizable and expensive accessories on the market today.
“Bless me, when I’m dead … people will possibly only talk about the bag.”
Sotheby’s stated that the original Birkin has multiple distinctions that separates it from later versions that we more commonly know today. The handbag’s size, metal rings, hardware, and shoulder strap were never replicated, and the front flap features Jane’s initials “J.B.”
Sotheby’s also said that since Jane liked to keep her nails neatly trimmed, a pair of silver nail clippers were attached to the shoulder strap. The bag also shows marks of its extensive use from Jane with discoloration from two stickers she adorned on it.
Birkin bags in today’s modern era of luxury fashion are treated as investments to keep in pristine condition to accumulate more value. However, the origins of the bag were meant to offer practicality in a luxury market.
In 1984, Jane was sitting next to former Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London. As a mother of three, Jane told the chairman that she couldn’t fine a purse that was spacious enough to suit all of her needs, and instead opted to carry around a large wicker basket, according to Sotheby’s.
In a future interview, Jane recalled how she wanted a bag that was “half the size of a suitcase. “He said, ‘Well, draw it for me,’ and so I drew it on one of those sick bags — the vomit bags — in the airplane,” she said.
In 1985, Hermès delivered the original bag, and ended up gifting her four more throughout her life.
“It is incredible to think that a bag initially designed by Hermès as a practical accessory for Jane Birkin, has become the most desirable bag in history and will most likely continue to be so for many years to come,” said Halimi in a press release ahead of the auction.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.