Paris just witnessed a historic fashion moment. The very first Hermès Birkin bag, crafted for actress and singer Jane Birkin herself, just sold at Sotheby’s auction for a jaw-dropping $10.1 million. That’s right—this isn’t just any luxury accessory. It’s the original prototype of what would go on to become the most iconic handbag in fashion history.
Back in 1984, Jane Birkin had a now-legendary encounter on an Air France flight with Jean-Louis Dumas, then CEO of Hermès. Her basket bag spilled its chaotic contents mid-flight, and the two started sketching what would become the first Birkin bag—on an airsickness bag, no less. That sketch sparked a fashion revolution.
Now, that very bag—complete with Birkin’s initials and even her personal nail clipper still attached—has become the most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction in Europe, beating out historic pieces like Napoleon Bonaparte’s hat.
The final hammer price? A wild 8.6 million euros, or roughly $10.1 million including fees. The winning bidder was a private collector from Japan. Even before bidding began, guests at the Paris auction—many rocking their own Birkins—thought it might hit $1 or $2 million. But when the auctioneer opened at $1.7 million, the room gasped. From there, it was a bidding frenzy.
The bag’s previous owner, Catherine Benier, a vintage shop owner in Paris, had bought the bag in 2000 after Birkin sold it at a charity auction in 1994. Reflecting on the moment, Benier said she was “astonished” by the final sale and touched by how passionately collectors went after the piece.
So yes, the Birkin bag isn’t just a flex—it’s now a multi-million-dollar artifact with a backstory that starts with a spilled diaper bag on a flight and ends with auction history. Only in the world of high fashion.
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