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Jane Birkin's original Hermès bag sold for $10 million after intense bidding war

Jane Birkin's original Hermès bag sold for $10 million after intense bidding war

Time of India10-07-2025
A handbag once tossed around by Jane Birkin like a casual everyday tote has officially made history. Yes, the OG black Hermès Birkin, scuffed, scratched, and basically dragging decades of chic chaos behind it, has just been sold for a staggering €8.6 million ($10 million) at a Sotheby's auction. That is not a typo.
From worn-out to worth millions, the original Birkin breaks records
Designed for the British-French icon herself back in the mid-1980s, the now-legendary leather accessory started as a practical fix for a problem she spilled mid-flight, literally. Birkin complained to then, Hermès exec Jean-Louis Dumas that she could not find a big enough bag for her daily mum life. So, they sketched it on an airplane sick bag (yes, those vomit bags) and boom, fashion history was born.
A bag with baggage, and a LOT of b
During the online auction this week, gasps echoed through Sotheby's live stream as the price kept soaring. What started at €1 million quickly escalated into a full-blown bidding war between nine collectors. Ten adrenaline-filled minutes later, a private Japanese collector emerged victorious with a €7 million hammer bid, which rounded off to €8.6 million with fees, officially making this the most expensive handbag ever auctioned.
Sotheby's head of handbags and accessories, Morgane Halimi, described the sale as a milestone moment, not just for fashion but for cultural legacy. She said the bag's wild success showed how an object with true provenance could spark intense passion among collectors.
This Birkin lived, stickers, scratches and all
Unlike other pristine Birkins that sit behind glass cases like untouched trophies, this one lived. The bag still has Jane Birkin's initials, 'J.B.,' engraved on it and sports silver nail clippers dangling off the strap, because she liked to keep her nails tidy on the go. Stickers from Médecins du Monde and UNICEF still leave their discolouration behind, marking her activism as much as her style.
Birkin, who passed away in 2023, once joked that her legacy might end up being all about the bag. 'Bless me, when I'm dead... people will possibly only talk about the bag,' she told CNN. Well Jane, they are, and it just made fashion history.
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