Only once in a generation comes a sale like this. Twenty-five years after the most famous product from the venerable House of Hermes was last sold, the original model of its Birkin bag is back on the auction block.
A quiet buzz has taken hold of the Sotheby's Paris offices this week as the auction house unveiled a rare cultural artefact: the first Hermes Birkin bag, designed in 1984 for the late actress and singer Jane Birkin. The worn black leather bag, used daily by Birkin for nearly a decade, is on public display before going under the hammer on July 10.
Outside the stately auction house on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, a stone's throw from the Champs-Elysees, signs mark the entrance to the free public exhibition running until July 9. Inside, beneath museum-like lighting, the bag sits encased in glass, visibly bearing the marks of its everyday use, including remnants of campaign group stickers affixed by Birkin.
This shows how much Birkin loved her bag, said Aurelie Vassy, head of handbag and fashion sales for Europe at Sotheby's. "It's a legend, it's an icon," Ms Vassy told The National on a tour of the display. "It's the origin of the most famous bag in the world."
Sotheby's had originally planned to sell the bag online but decided on a live auction after an unexpected surge in interest, it said. Previous sales indicate that bidding could reach into six figures, driven not only by its provenance but also its bespoke features, some of which have never been offered commercially.
No other bag
Unlike standard Birkins, this original model is a hybrid in size, with added depth. A shoulder strap, absent from future designs, hangs on its sides, and the initials "J.B." are stamped on the front. "There is no other bag like this," Ms Vassy said. "We suppose Hermes created this model to respond to Jane Birkin's needs." Her bag is derived from Hermes's first product, the Haut a Courroies, designed to transport horse riders' helmets.
The story of the Birkin bag's birth is fashion lore. On an Air France flight from Paris to London in 1984, Birkin's belongings spilt from her Hermes handbag, prompting a complaint to her seatmate.
To her surprise, her neighbour answered: "I am Hermes." He was Hermes director Jean-Louis Dumas and together they designed her ideal bag, which in later interviews she said she drew on the plane's "vomit bag". The Birkin bag was born.
Hermes has since cultivated the bag's mythology through scarcity and craftsmanship. Each bag is handmade in France but production numbers are kept secret. It is impossible to walk into a shop to buy a Birkin bag – it is up to Hermes to decide if they will sell you one.
Frustrated fashionistas in the US even sued Hermes in a class-action suit in California last year after they were refused access to the bags. Meanwhile, celebrities from Khloe Kardashian to Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham have touted their Birkin bags.
Rarity and desire
It has become by far the most coveted bag globally, Ms Vassy said. "It's about rarity and desire – principles that Hermes manages extremely well," she told The National. "Year after year, unique pieces are crafted, with crocodile colours, for example, that are never made again. It's about trying to hold on to time as it slips through your fingers ... the symbolic value of Hermes keeps growing."
Prices can reach into the tens of thousands, and the resale market has turned Birkins into investment opportunities. "The strength of the second-hand market is that it allows you to buy a bag when you want," Ms Vassy said. A 2016 study by Baghunter found that Birkin bags offered a higher value on investment than gold and the S&P 500, a stock market index. In 2022, Sotheby's sold a diamond-encrusted Himalaya Birkin for more than $450,000.
Jane Birkin's personal Birkin is more modest in appearance. Yet its cultural cachet is unmatched. Its sale represents not only a fashion milestone, but a piece of history. That's also the reason why Sotheby's organised a physical sale, according to Ms Vassy, "to allow the bag to enter history a little more".
Birkin, like the bag?
Comparisons have been drawn with another pop culture relic: the original "black sheep sweater" worn by Lady Diana at a 1983 polo match. "It's an equivalent fashion item that is both one-of-a-kind and also belonged to a famous personality," Ms Vassy said. The sweater, viewed as a symbol of Lady Diana's sense of humour and rebellious spirit, fetched $1.14 million at a 2023 auction, soaring past its estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It recently gained renewed fame through its appearance in the popular Netflix series The Crown.
Jane Birkin herself joked that the bag had become more famous than her. In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Birkin, who died aged 76 in 2023, recalled being asked during a trip to the US: "You mean Birkin, like the bag?" She laughed and added: "I thought, oh gosh, on my obituary, it'll say: like the bag."
The last time her original Birkin bag changed hands was at an auction in 2000. At the time, it was valued at 5,000 French francs – less than $900. The sale price was never disclosed. For next week's auction, Sotheby's has not published an official reserve. The current owner, Paris-based handbag collector and dealer Catherine Benier, stands to make a substantial return. Speaking to The New York Times, she called the bag "the most beautiful, coveted piece in the history of fashion".
