2025-07-10T18:52:08Z

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The very first Hermès Birkin handbag, famously associated with the late British-French actress Jane Birkin, was sold for a staggering $10.1 million at Sotheby's auction on Thursday. This historic sale has set a new record, with Sotheby’s declaring the bag as the most valuable handbag ever auctioned. The black leather bag, which has become synonymous with luxury and affluence, originated from a serendipitous encounter on an airplane in 1984.

Jane Birkin, who enjoyed a prosperous career in French cinema, starred in iconic films such as "La Piscine" and "Blow-Up." The fateful moment that led to the creation of the Birkin bag occurred while she was traveling from Paris to London. Onboard, she utilized a straw basket as her handbag, which caught the eye of her seatmate, Jean-Louis Dumas, the then-chief executive of the renowned Hermès fashion house.

During their conversation, Birkin expressed her frustration with the lack of functional bags suitable for a young mother. Dumas, renowned for his creativity, promptly sketched a design for a spacious, rectangular holdall, featuring a burnished flap and exquisite saddle stitching. This initial sketch laid the groundwork for what would become a fashion phenomenon.

Marisa Meltzer, an author who chronicled Birkin's life, shared insights in a video for Sotheby’s, suggesting that the Birkin bag evolved into an unexpected icon. She highlighted how the demand for the bag surged after Birkin was spotted using it, creating an aura of scarcity that only heightened its allure. “I would say that the Birkin was an accidental icon,” Meltzer remarked.

Typically, Birkin bags are priced between $20,000 and $30,000, but rare designs and exclusive materials can cause prices to soar dramatically on the secondary market. The purchasing process itself is notoriously complex; these luxury bags are not available for online purchase and must be acquired at an Hermès boutique, where selection is limited. Sales associates have the discretion to deny purchases if a customer is not on a waiting list, further contributing to the Birkin’s elite status.

Despite being the muse behind the handbag, Jane Birkin rarely carried one in her later years. In a 2017 interview with the BBC, she stated that she found the Birkin bag to be “too heavy.” Instead, she opted for practicality, saying, “Now I fill my pockets like a man, because then you don’t actually have to carry anything.” Throughout her life, she received several Birkins as gifts and even sold some to raise funds for charitable causes dear to her heart. Notably, she auctioned the original Birkin in 1994 to benefit a French AIDS charity.

Birkin would often customize her bag with stickers supporting organizations like Médecins du Monde and UNICEF, thus transforming a luxury item into a potent symbol of her humanitarian efforts. She humbly stated in an interview, “I never considered myself as a fashion icon and, in our days, nobody was. No one had contracts with fashion houses. We just wore exactly what we wanted.” The multifaceted figure, who also ventured into music, faced health challenges in recent years, suffering a stroke in 2021 and passing away in 2023 at the age of 76.