Ian Young
Cultural Reporter
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Jane Birkin owned the original bag and lended her name to everything after that.
The original Birkin bag, which sets the template for perhaps the most coveted accessories in fashion history, was purchased for 8.6 million euros (7.4 million pounds, $10.1 million), making it the most valuable handbag sold at auction.
The black leather bag was made in 1985 for singer Jane Birkin. She was made after spilling her belongings while sitting next to the boss of luxury fashion house Hermes on a flight.
She asked why they didn’t make a big bag, so he sketched out the design of the more practical yet highly desirable item with the sick bag on the plane.
The prototype he created was sold to a Japanese private collector at Sotheby’s in Paris on Thursday, far surpassing the previous record sales of 439,000 euros (£378,000, $513,000).
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Birkin owned and used for 10 years before donating to charity.
The auction house said there was a “impressive” 10-minute bidding war between “the nine definitive collectors.”
Morgan Halimi, global head of handbags and fashion at Satheby, said the price is “an incredible demonstration of the power of legend and the ability to ignite the passion and desire of collectors for extraordinary items with their own sources,” and owns its origins.
She added: “That’s exactly what the Birkin prototype is, and the starting point for an extraordinary story that gave us a modern icon, a Birkin bag and the world’s most coveted handbag.”
A total of 8,582,500 euros includes fees and fees. Sotheby’s did not publish pre-auction estimates.
After creating a bag for the Anglo-French singer and actress, Hermes put the bag into commercial production. This is one of the most exclusive status symbols in fashion.
Some styles cost tens of thousands of dollars and have a waiting list for years, along with owners including celebrities such as Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez.
The original has several unique features, including the Birkin initials on the front flap, an unremovable shoulder strap, nail clipper attached to the strap, and where to mark the supporting cause stickers such as Medicine Dumond and UNICEF.
Birkin, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 76, owned the original bag for 10 years and gave to auctions in 1994 to raise funds for AIDS charity.
It was later acquired by Catherine Beigner, who owns a gorgeous boutique in Paris. He owned it for 25 years before selling on Thursday.
Sotheby’s said the previous record price for the handbag was set in 2021 by the white Himalaya Nilotitias Crocodile Diamond Rituna Kelly 28.
