The Worlds Most Expensive Handbag
Jane Birkin's Original Prototype Bag Sold for a Record Fee
Jane Birkin’s prototype Hermés bag sold for €7 million, plus commission at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris bringing the total to around €8.6 million. Breaking the previous record for a Birkin of $513,000 for a diamond and crocodile Kelly (ugly).
The Birkin story is a famous one, with actress and singer drawing the design on a sick-bag whilst on a aeroplane in front of the Hermès boss, Jean-Louis Dumas, after her belongings had fallen out of her current bag, scattering on the floor. Fleeting comments turned into the start of a legacy. She then went on to use the resultant bag as a daily, often seen with it brimmed with her stuff, kicking it around and gaining the signs of use and love which epitomised her character. She would often cover it in politically charged stickers from time to time, as well as ones for UNICEF and Médicines du Monde.
Birkin donated the infamous bag to an auction that benefitted an AIDS Charity in 1994, before the bag was then sold to a collector in 2000, who has kept the bag ever since. It would be almost 25 years until the bag would be seen by the public again when it was displayed by Sotheby’s in Paris, ahead of the highly anticipated auction.
Fame, Fortune and all for Show
Rumours are that proof of €1.6 million in cash was required to be given an auction paddle to even place a bid, with pre-bidding already breaking the record for a handbag, exceeding €1 million. It was said that some famous people (most frequently mentioned were Kim Kardashian and Jamie Chua, a renowned collector) were in the running to own the prized possession, as well as wealthy hoarders who keep their bags as status symbols rather than for their utility. Others in the room saw the opportunity to document the occasion, content farming their way through to front row access, as seen in the footage which is a sea of iPhones that would rival the Louis Vuitton finalé.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
In the end it was allegedly won by either a company called Valuance Japan; owner of Allu - a luxury goods trader. Or a private Japanese collector, Yusaku Maezawa, the latter is known for a large online fashion retail business which he cashed out to Yahoo several years ago, alongside commercial space flights, links with Elon (pre total twatification) and has become a wealthy mogul with extravagant ventures, alongside a Contemporary Art Foundation - he has bought and sold some extremely valuable pieces previously, by the likes of Basquiat in the region of €100 million. Despite initial reports coming from Sotheby’s stating it had sold to a private collector via the telephone - Maiko Ichikawa - head of Sotheby’s Japan, reports now state it is the former business who are the new owners of Birkin’s bag. Sounds fishy to me, either way if the new owner would like the bag to be used and loved further, I am always available.
What is Next?
Either way, the original Birkin fostered international attention, with prying eyes and hearts wondering what comes next and what this says about the world of the elites and the wealthy - it was estimated that the price of the bag could help feed 30,000 children, three meals a day, for an entire year! But hey, why would a billionaire care about that?
So will the bag be locked away again or displayed in a museum? The hopes of most people was that Hermès would purchase the bag and display it at their flagship in an armoured glass box. But alas, we weren’t so lucky. It is also not in-line with Hermès’ character to get involved in…literally anything to be honest.
And, to my main thoughts throughout this whole debacle, what would Jane Birkin think of all of this and in particular, what has become of the Birkin bag. She said she never had more than one bag at a time, “doesn’t like it looking like everyone else’s” and that theres “no fun in a bag if it’s not kicked around so it looks as if the cat’s been sitting on it”. Not exactly what springs to mind these days when you ask people to picture the 2025 Birkin and its’ user. We now watch as the hoarders of Birkins place them on top shelves, wrap them in protective plastic and pass out when they get a tiny mark. They’re not bought to be used so much as they are bought to be marauded. In a landscape where more is more, and overconsumption is the perceived vision of wealth, the wealthy will hoard the most inaccessible items. None of them are the type of people to donate, speak up or stand out, but more so contribute to the endless cycle of pseudo-style and social climb through whatever is deemed desirable week by week, and over-consume it to stamp their authority in the space of wealth expression.
Is this the antithesis to Janes embodiment of freedom, character and originality?
The Birkin bag is a perfect parabola for our sick society. We truly know the price of everything and the value of nothing.