Original 1984 Hermes Birkin bag belonging to the Jane Birkin sells for $11.6million

Daily Mail​

11-07-2025

Actress Jane Birkin's original Hermes Birkin has sold for $11.6million - becoming the most valuable handbag to ever be sold at auction.
The legendary bag, named after the actress and singer, is now also the second most expensive fashion item to ever be sold, after it was auctioned at Sotheby's in Paris on Thursday.
The classic handbag was designed for Birkin, who starred in many French and British films from the 1960s onwards, and died in 2023.
Birkin happened to be seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, then artistic director of Hermes, on an Air France flight in 1981.
Carrying all her items in a wicker basket, she complained to Dumas that the handbags of the day tended to be too small to fit all of her belongings.
Dumas and Birkin began sketching designs on the back of a sick bag, and by 1985, Hermes had produced a prototype and presented it to Birkin, requesting her permission to name the new style in her honor.
The leather bag has now become a status symbol, worn on the arms of celebrities including Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, Kylie Jenner, and Jennifer Lopez.
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of handbags and fashion, said: 'The spectacular sale of the original Hermes Birkin today at Sotheby's Paris marks an important milestone in the history of fashion and the luxury industry more widely.'
Halimi continued: '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, to own its origin.
'The Birkin prototype is exactly that, the starting point of an extraordinary story that has given us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the most coveted handbag in the world.
'The sale of the original Birkin is also, ultimately, a celebration of the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin.'
The previous world record for the sale of a handbag was the Hermes white Himalaya niloticus crocodile diamond retourne Kelly 28, which sold in 2021 for $513,040.
Meanwhile the most expensive fashion item to ever be sold was the pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in the film The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $32.5million last year.
Auction house Sotheby's previously announced Birkin's original black leather bag would lead its Fashion Icons sale on July 10.
The first ever of its kind, the historic accessory was on public display at Sotheby's New York galleries from June 6 to June 12, before being moved to the Parisian auction in the city which was once Jane's home.
Distinguished by seven unique design elements, the veneered bag, the first in a long ancestry of highly sought after Birkin accessories, was only exhibited publicly for the first time last autumn at Sotheby's Paris Galleries.
The purse was later displayed at Sotheby's Maison in Hong Kong earlier this year. It drew in thousands of spectators from across the world, making it an accessory with legendary status.
Aesthetically speaking, the satchel is fairly unremarkable in comparison to today's Birkin lines - with a large assortment of colors, patterns and styles now available to those willing to bear its six year waiting list - with a plain black leather design.
Jane's initials are embossed onto the leather design, and the bag itself is covered in residue from stickers representing Unicef and Medecins du Monde. Unlike more modern versions, it also has a shoulder strap.
Overall the bag is in a somewhat tattered state suggesting it was well-worn and 'loved' by its late owner.
It's different to the first Birkin bags created by Hermes, which were 40cm, and then 35cms in size, the Original Birkin a hybrid of those two sizes with width and height of a Birkin 35 with the depth of a Birkin 40.
Other differences include the metal rings, which are closed on the Original and the hardware, which was first made of gilded brass before later being replaced by gold-plated hardware.
The zips are also unique. When it was first created, Hermes still purchased its zips from the 'eclair' company, but this changed in the 1990s when the brand began a partnership with the Riri company, which to this day still manufactures all the zips for the Birkin bags.
The bag's feet, or bottom studs, are smaller on the Original Birkin than those eventually used on modern models.
Designed specially for Jane, who was never one to sport long painted nails, the Original also has a nail clipper hanging from a chain on the inside of the bag.
The original 'It' bag: Birkin's Birkin lasted her 10 years
One of five Birkin bags gifted to Jane, she was known to hold the Original particularly close to her heart, always making sure to specify if she was carrying it over the others.
The original 'It' bag lasted Jane for ten years. When a replacement was required, Jane sold it to an unnamed buyer at auction in 1994 to support the fight against Aids.
Six years later it was back on the market, much to the delight of Catherine Benier, a collector of vintage Hermes and Chanel accessories and owner of Les Trois Marches de Catherine B, an exclusive Parisian vintage fashion boutique, who'd narrowly missed out on the bag previously.
She previously described the moment she finally got her hands on the bag.
Awestruck she said: 'I couldn't imagine that this marvelous object didn't belong to me.'
At the time of purchase, the fashion enthusiast said she felt 'indescribably joy' when the hammer fell.
Refusing to disclose how much she'd paid - the figure thought to be well into six figures - Catherine said she would never use the handbag, nor would she part with it.
She claimed that she had already received repeated requests to purchase it, including eyewatering sums from the likes of Rihanna and others.
Despite having insisted she would never re-sell the bag, it would appear Catherine has changed her mind.
Birkin kept her essentials — diary, phone, photographs of her three daughters and make-up — in her Birkin, but admitted she'd had to stop carrying 'that rather trivial piece of heavy luggage' in her latter years as it had contributed to her tendonitis.
She also confessed to using the bag as an umbrella, sleeping on it at airports — even giving her cat free rein to play inside.
Jane only ever owned — and subsequently sold — five Birkins, all in plain black leather and personalized with stickers, worry beads, keys, luggage tags, bracelets and even a miniature harmonica dangling from its handles.
Hermes expert Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home The Birkin and founder of smart fashion retailer Respoke said: 'She was bohemian. She didn't care very much about luxury goods.'
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's Global Head of Handbags and Fashion, previously said: '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.'