The earliest Birkin bag, designed by French luxury brand Hermes specifically for celebrity Jane Birkin, was sold for €8.58 million (approximately $10 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Thursday, setting a new record for the highest price ever paid for a handbag.
Owned by a well-known Paris-based handbag collector, this iconic modern design sparked a fierce telephone bidding war that escalated to €7 million, with the final sale price reaching €8.58 million—including commissions and fees—according to Sotheby’s.
Prior to this, the record for a handbag sold at auction was held by a crocodile skin Hermes Kelly 28, encrusted with diamonds and white gold, which fetched nearly $513,000 in 2021 at Christie’s in Hong Kong.
Sotheby’s noted that bidding for the Birkin prototype opened at €1 million, prompting surprised reactions from the room. The auction house had anticipated the bag would set auction records.
This extraordinary price aligns with the fashion industry’s recent trend toward more ostentatious styles, moving away from the “quiet luxury” aesthetic that dominated runways in recent years. Instead, designers are embracing bold, eye-catching looks that some trend forecasters call “boom boom” styles.
The buyer’s identity remains undisclosed.
Fashion legend
The original Birkin has changed hands twice since it was first sold by Birkin herself in a 1994 auction benefitting an AIDS charity, as noted by Sotheby’s.
The current owner, Catherine Benier—a boutique owner in the upscale 6th district of Left Bank Paris—told The New York Times before the auction that the bag was the “jewel of my collection.”
The story behind the bag has become a modern fashion legend. It was conceived in 1984 after Jane Birkin, who passed away in 2023, complained during a flight from Paris to London that she couldn’t find a bag suitable for her needs as a young mother.
Coincidentally, Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermes, was aboard and took up the challenge. The result was a spacious tote designed with a non-detachable shoulder strap, engraved with her initials J.B., featuring closed metal rings and even a built-in nail clipper—a unique design that was perfect for her lifestyle.
The condition of the bag, Sotheby’s noted, “reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer.”
Since then, a slightly different-sized version of the original has become Hermes’ flagship product, renowned for its exclusivity and popularity among celebrities like Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, and Victoria Beckham.
The bag’s prestige has led to legal disputes over access, with frustrated fashion enthusiasts in the U.S. filing a class-action suit against Hermes last year after being denied entry to purchase the coveted handbags.