Jane Birkin’s Original Hermès Bag Sells for $10 Million in Paris Auction

The original Hermès Birkin bag, designed in 1984 for British actress Jane Birkin, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris for a record-breaking €8.58 million (over $10 million), making it the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction. This black leather prototype, featuring Birkin's initials and unique design elements such as a non-removable shoulder strap, was inspired by a chance conversation between Birkin and Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight, where Birkin sketched her ideal larger handbag on an airplane sick bag. The auction saw intense bidding from collectors worldwide, culminating in a private Japanese collector winning the bag after a fierce 10-minute bidding war involving nine bidders. Previously, the most expensive handbag sold was a diamond-encrusted crocodile Hermès Kelly 28, which fetched around $513,000 in 2021. Jane Birkin had owned the bag for about a decade before selling it in 1994 to raise funds for AIDS charity, and the bag symbolizes both luxury fashion history and a pop culture phenomenon. The sale underscores the Birkin bag's status as a highly coveted luxury icon, with new Birkins fetching $10,000 to $100,000 and often requiring personal connections to purchase.