"It's not just a bag, it's a Birkin," a saleswoman once declared in Sex and the City. And not a word of that is a lie. Jane Birkin's original Hermès Birkin once made fashion history, and now it's auction history as well. At Sotheby's in Paris, this iconic piece found a new owner and immediately set a series of records.
The myth began in 1983, high above the clouds. Jane Birkin, already a style icon, was on a flight from Paris to London with her inseparable wicker basket. As she tried to stow the basket in the overhead compartment, its contents accidentally spilled out and landed squarely on the lap of her neighbor: none other than Jean-Louis Dumas, CEO of Hermès. Birkin confessed that she had never found the perfect bag that offered both elegance and sufficient space for her daily necessities. Dumas listened attentively, and even during the flight, he sketched the first outlines of what would become the iconic Birkin bag on a simple airplane pouch; a bag spacious enough for lipstick, papers, bottles, and everything a modern woman carries.
In 1985, the first prototype was presented to Birkin, crafted from black calfskin, with a sleek, timeless look. But unlike later models, this original piece was given unique details: a slightly larger size, a non-detachable shoulder strap for ease of carrying, Birkin's own initials subtly worked into the leather, and perhaps the most charming detail: a small nail clipper dangling from the bag by a chain, because Jane was a firm believer in short nails. Moreover, the edges still bear the faint traces of stickers Birkin placed there to support charities like UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders.
Last week, this original fashion icon went under the hammer at Sotheby's in Paris. Nine bidders vied fiercely for ten minutes to own this piece of fashion history. The result? A new world record for a bag and the most valuable fashion item Europe has ever seen: the Birkin sold for a whopping €8.6 million and found a new owner in a Japanese collector.
Jane Birkin herself, incidentally, never treated her bag with kid gloves. She filled it to the brim, hung keychains and stickers on it, and saw it primarily as a practical object. Because despite its mythical status, the Birkin, in the spirit of its muse, is above all a bag that simply has to be used…
