On July 10, at Sotheby’s “Fashion Icons” auction in Paris, the original Hermès Birkin bag once used by the late Jane Birkin was sold for €8.6 million, including fees. This extraordinary sum makes it the second most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction.
The one-of-a-kind prototype was specially created for Jane Birkin by Hermès in 1984 and is stamped with her initials, “J.B.,” beneath the front flap. According to Sotheby’s, the winning bidder was a private collector from Japan—one of nine participants in the bidding, which unfolded over ten intense minutes. The hammer price was €7 million, with the total reaching €8.6 million after fees.
Sotheby’s noted that the sale shattered the previous record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction, which had been set in 2021 at $513,040 for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Kelly 28. Among fashion-related items overall, only Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024, have fetched a higher price.
The story behind the original Birkin bag began with a chance encounter between Jane Birkin and then-Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight to London in the 1980s. The two began speaking after Birkin dropped some belongings on the cabin floor and complained that she couldn’t find a bag spacious enough to hold all her daily items. Dumas responded by sketching a design on an airplane sickness bag. That sketch soon became a prototype, and Birkin, delighted with the result, agreed to its commercial release, giving rise to the now-iconic Birkin bag series.
Morgane Halimi, Head of Handbags & Fashion at Sotheby’s, stated: “There is no doubt that 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. 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.”
According to Sotheby’s, the bag was crafted entirely by hand, based on Hermès’ Haut à Courroies model, and it features seven distinct design differences from later commercial versions. One such element is its non-removable shoulder strap—an intentional choice that suited Birkin’s active lifestyle as a singer, actress, mother, and activist. The bag even came equipped with a nail clipper, as Birkin reportedly “was never one for long painted nails.”
Birkin used the prototype for nearly a decade before auctioning it in 1994 to benefit AIDS charities. It was auctioned again in 2000 and has since remained in private hands.
The most recent seller, identified only as Catherine B., told reporters after the auction, “This bag has all the attributes of a star,” and added, “The price is the price of the Hermès story.”
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