Latest news with #JaneBirkin
Eater
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Who Needs a Labubu When You Could Have a Fried Chicken Bag Charm?
is the commerce writer at Eater, and an award-winning writer with bylines in GQ, VICE, The Daily Beast, and other publications. A curious home cook with a deep love of Polish cabbage rolls, her devotion to food service journalism knows no bounds. As lovers of all things food-related, the Eater shopping team is understandably passionate about paying sartorial homage to our love of filthy vodka martinis, mall pretzels, and Aperol spritzes. There's a special sense of camaraderie in the air when a fellow pickle-lover is spotted in the wild courtesy of a realistic pickle keychain; our love of food can feel so personal that it's a bit like spotting someone on vacation in a T-shirt of your favorite local band. When it comes to food-themed style moments, there's the bold (a radicchio-print dress) but also the more understated (a martini cell phone chain). The current accessory du jour: bag charms, which have taken off amid the popularity of 'Birkinifying' bags — named for Jane Birkin's practice of adorning her Hermès bag with scarves, tags, and keychains — and in the context of a larger consumer shift towards quirky accessories. In an interview with the New York Times about the trend, Marissa Galante Frank, Bloomingdale's fashion director for accessories and beauty, said that she noticed shoppers 'craving a way to show their personal style,' and that charms are 'a way to make a more serious handbag feel unique.' So it only makes sense that we, as food lovers, would want to deck out our bags with unique food-themed charms and keychains. There's the classic hot-sauce-as-keychain bit, which truly never gets old — check out this interchangeable sauce keychain flight from Tabasco — as well as newer bag swag splendors, like the Instagram-viral Loewe tomato bag charm: Fashion and lifestyle brands have become increasingly smitten with food-themed apparel and accessories recently, and the exploding popularity of bag charms has yielded a treasure trove of options for every kind of food freak and every budget. Thankfully, you don't have to spend $650 at a luxury Spanish fashion house to bring home a tasty food- or drink-themed bag charm or keychain, and your devoted Eater shopping team (hi) has trawled the internet to bring you the coolest bag charms for making your farmers market tote turn heads at the berry stands. Let's accessorize — and maybe make those Labubus a little jealous. This homage to Diet Coke The Japanese-inspired brand Smoko makes all kinds of cute food-themed home goods that are worthy of your next White Elephant party (see: this ambient dumpling light), including this metallic diet soda bag charm. For the lover of martinis and tapas Prove your martini fealty with a string of Castelvetrano olives as a keychain, or go for Michael Kors' metallic gold and silver martini bag charm. This designer banana is 60% off This Italian-made banana is admittedly a splurge, but it's one that will always stay ripe. Plus, it comes with the option of either a lobster clasp or a keychain. This tiny orange bag charm can hold your loose change Things that this delightful five inch-wide orange bag charm can also hold: mints, lip balm, condoms, magic beans — the options are endless. Auntie Anne's has entered the chat In addition to both the lobster clasp and keychain, this faux pretzel is made out of brass, which means it can handle all of the brouhaha of big city life (i.e. clanging against subway poles, your crush's drink spilling). Fasten a bundle of fruit to your farmers market tote Take your pick of these miniature avocados, oranges, lemons, potatoes, or peppers in recycled produce bags. You're partial to ketchup on your chicken nuggets, fries, and fried chicken I had a dream last night that every one of these was fastened to Jane Birkin's Birkin. Fendi's deliciously detailed leather bag charms Somewhere, there is a timeline in which I dip my fries into Kewpie mayonnaise on a yacht off the coast of Mallorca, whilst paying close attention not to stain my truly artisanal, $1,000 leather bag charms from Fendi. You save all of your ketchup packets In the poetic words of Moda Opernadi, it's 'a sachet of sauce, made from glossy red capra leather' complete with a tear marker. Details, my friend. It's always an Aperol spritz summer The beauty's in the details of the sparkling bag charm, which has different crystals and beads to bring dimension to its design. This elegant egg Next stop? Finding you a rhinestone garlic tank top.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Birkin: The Bag, the Woman, the Myth
The world is in the throes of Birkin mania. This month the original Birkin bag, made by Hermès for the British actress Jane Birkin in 1984, sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby's in Paris. The way Ms. Birkin wore it, festooned with nail clippers and stickers for political causes, has led to its own slang: to 'Birkinify' one's bag. The omnipresent Labubu plush toys that fans like to hang on their bags are said to have been inspired by the way Ms. Birkin affixed eclectic trinkets to her Birkins. Riffs on the Hermés classic, the Boatkin, have become sought-after novelty items that fetch their own hefty prices. On social media, explainers proliferate on how to emulate Ms. Birkin's late 1960s, carefree, bourgeois-bohemian style, with sheer crocheted dresses and ballet flats. All of this is happening two years after her death on July 16, 2023, following a cancer diagnosis and more than a decade of treatment. She was a cult figure, particularly outside France, where she lived most of her life. Ms. Birkin, who was born in London, became a revered actress who appeared in more than 70 films and a musician whose most famous song, 'Je t'aime … moi non plus,' with Serge Gainsbourg, was a worldwide hit. It was banned by the Vatican for its lasciviousness, and Ms. Birkin responded that the pope was their best publicist. In 2023, the black-walled house on the Left Bank where the couple lived opened as a museum, and tickets to tour the residence sell out months in advance. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Jane Birkin's original Hermès bag sells at auction for whopping 8.6 million euros
PARIS (AP) — Sketched out on an air sickness bag, the first Birkin handbag — the prototype for fashion's must-have accessory — sold for a staggering 8.6 million euros ($10.1 million), including fees, on Thursday in Paris to become the second most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction. The winning bid of 7 million euros drew gasps and applause from the audience. The price crushed the previous auction record for a handbag — $513,040 paid in 2021 for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28. Now, the original Birkin bag, named after the actor, singer and fashion icon that Hermès created it for — the late Jane Birkin — is in a new league of its own. Only one fashion item has sold at auction for more: a pair of ruby red slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz', which sold for $32.5 million in 2024, Sotheby's said. Whistles in the auction room The Paris auction room buzzed with anticipation as the sale got underway, with the auctioneer reminding the crowd that the bag was 'totally unique' and 'the most famous bag of all time.' The bidding started at 1 million euros but quickly increased, with telephone bidders fighting it out at the end. With Sotheby's fees included, the total price for the winning bidder from Japan was a cool 8.6 million euros, the auction house said. From the starting price, bids rocketed past 2 million euros, then 3 million, 4 million and 5 million, to astonished gasps. When the price jumped from 5.5 million to 6 million euros in one swoop, there were whistles and applause. The final bids were 6.2 million euros, then 6.5 million, then 6.8 million before the Japanese buyer's last winning bid: 7 million euros. Sotheby's didn't identify the buyer. Nine collectors bidding by telephone, online, and in the room competed in the 10-minute auction battle, with the private collector from Japan beating a last remaining other bidder at the end. 'One of a kind' Paris fashion house Hermès exclusively commissioned the bag for the London-born Birkin in 1984 — branding it with her initials J.B. on the front flap, below the lock — and delivered the finished one-of-a-kind bag to her the following year, Sotheby's said. The subsequent commercialized version of Birkin's bag went on to become one of the world's most exclusive luxury items , extravagantly priced and with a yearslong waiting list. The bag was born of a fortuitous encounter on a London-bound flight in the 1980s with the then-head of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas. Birkin recounted in subsequent interviews that the pair got talking after she spilled some of her things on the cabin floor. Birkin asked Dumas why Hermès didn't make a bigger handbag and sketched out on an airplane vomit bag the sort of hold-all that she would like. He then had an example made for her and, flattered, she agreed when Hermès asked whether it could commercialize the bag in her name. '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,' said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's head of handbags and fashion. The bag became so famous that Birkin once mused before her death in 2023 at age 76 that her obituaries would likely 'say, 'Like the bag' or something.' 'Well, it could be worse,' she added. Height of French chic Sotheby's said that seven design elements on the handcrafted all-black leather prototype set it apart from Birkins that followed. It's the only Birkin with a nonremovable shoulder strap — fitting for the busy life and practicality of the singer, actor, social activist and mother who was also known for her romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg and their duets that included the steamy 1969 song 'Je t'aime moi non plus' ('I Love You, Me Neither'). Her bag also had a nail clipper attached, because Birkin 'was never one for long painted nails,' Sotheby's said. The bag that Hermès handmade for her, developed off its existing Haut A Courroies model, also has gilded brass hardware, bottom studs and other features that differ from commercial Birkins. Birkin's casual, breezy style in the 1960s and early 1970s — long hair with bangs, jeans paired with white tops, knit minidresses and basket bags — still epitomizes the height of French chic for many women around the world. 'More than just a bag' When Birkin chatted to Hermès' Dumas on the Paris-to-London flight about what her ideal handbag would be, she'd been in the habit of carrying her things around in a wicker basket, because she felt handbags in the 1980s were too small, Sotheby's said. She was traveling with her young daughter, Charlotte, and complained that she couldn't find a bag suitable for her needs as a mother, Hermès says. Hermès later gifted her four other Birkin bags. She kept the prototype for nearly a decade, before auctioning it for an AIDS charity in 1994. It was auctioned again in 2000 and had since been in private hands. The previous owner, who identified herself only as Catherine B., told journalists at the auction that the bag 'has all the attributes of a star.' 'The price is the price of the Hermès story,' she said. Sotheby's called it 'more than just a bag.' 'The Birkin has evolved from a practical accessory to become a timeless cultural icon,' it said. 'Its presence spans the worlds of music, film, television and the arts,' it added. 'It is a red-carpet staple, a fashion magazine mainstay, and a coveted piece in the wardrobes of celebrities, artists and stylists.' ___ John Leicester reported from Le Pecq.
News18
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
The OG Birkin Bag Sold For $10 Million At Auction: All You Need To Know
Last Updated: The bag was made for British and French actress, singer and designer Jane Birkin. Jane Birkin's bag from the French luxury label, Hermes was put up for auction on July 10, and was sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby's auction as part of the Paris Fashion Icon's sale. It has now become the most expensive handbag ever sold at an auction. Scroll ahead to know more. 1/8 The first-ever Birkin bag is saddle-stitched and comes in a jet black shade. It is made entirely of leather and consists of gold hardware, contributing to its extra dose of regal charm. (Image: Instagram) It was made as a pure 'utility' bag for actress Jane Birkin. She met then-head of Hermes, Jean-Louis Dumas, on a Paris-London flight and told her that she was unable to find a bag suited to the needs of a young mother, like her. (Image: Instagram)
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Original Hermès Birkin Bag Fetches $10.1 Million at Paris Auction
After 10 minutes of frenzied bidding in Paris on Thursday, Jane Birkin's original Hermès Birkin sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby's in Paris, shattering the previous record by nearly 20 times. Sotheby's said the sale 'establishes new benchmarks for the most valuable fashion item sold at auction in Europe, and the most valuable luxury item ever sold at Sotheby's Paris.' More from WWD Ben Ahlers on 'The Gilded Age,' Being a Meme and His Journey From Iowa to HBO Stardom At Wimbledon, Fashion Matters Just Much as Tennis How Jane Birkin Helped Design Hermès' Most Popular Handbag: Her Inspiration, Royalties and the $10 Million Bag The opening bid was 1 million euros, prompting gasps in the room and sparking an 'electrifying' bidding battle between nine collectors, according to Sotheby's, which fielded bids from within the room, online and over the phone. 'In the end, the handbag that changed fashion history was met with applause as it sold to a private collector from Japan, bidding via telephone through Maiko Ichikawa, country head of Sotheby's Japan.' Billed as 'one of the most iconic fashion items ever created,' the all-black leather Birkin prototype commissioned in 1984 spawned one of the world's most recognizable and coveted handbag styles, and turned Birkin, a British actress and singer, from a style icon into a household name. In the run-up to Thursday's sale, thousands of people attended exhibitions of the handbag in Paris and Hong Kong, and 270 participants from 38 countries registered for Thursday's 'Fashion Icons' auction, with the Birkin bag the star lot. Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of handbags and fashion, said the record-breaking sale price '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.' She also lauded 'the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin.' Sotheby's noted that the previous auction record for a handbag was a White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28, which fetched $513,040 in 2021, while the current auction record for any fashion item is a pair of ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz,' which sold for $32.5 million last year. Best of WWD Why Tennis Players Wear All White at Wimbledon: The Championships' Historic Dress Code Explained Kate Middleton's Looks at Trooping the Colour Through the Years [PHOTOS] Young Brooke Shields' Style Evolution, Archive Photos: From Runway Modeling & Red Carpets to Meeting Princess Diana Solve the daily Crossword
