A single-lot sale with an estimate available only on request: the sale of the first Birkin bag is set to be a landmark moment in fashion collecting.
The Birkin bag is the most famous handbag – and perhaps accessory – of them all.
It was designed for Hermes after a company director, Jean-Louis Dumas shared a flight with British actor Jane Birkin.
Struggling with everything she needed to travel with her daughter, Charlotte, the actor needed a large and practical bag that she said wasn’t on the market.
The bag is luxurious and fashionable, but was designed to meet the practical demands of a mum with her child. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
As a result, Dumas’s company created the bag and dedicated it to its inspiration.
On June 26 the prototype that was given to Jane Birkin in 1985 will be auctioned in Paris.
“There is no doubt that the Original Birkin bag is a true one-of-a-kind — a singular piece of fashion history that has grown into a pop culture phenomenon that signals luxury in the most refined way possible,” said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion.
The original is definitely a used item, complete with a set of nail clippers that Birkin hung from an internal strap, and plenty of wear and tear, including marks showing where Birkin affixed stickers in support of her favourite causes.
It’s also a work in progress, with a number of differences to the bag that went into production.
Among them: it is a different size; it has closed metal rings; the hardware is in gilded brass; it has a shoulder strap.
The experiment was undoubtedly a success. With Jane Birkin, who carried her bag everywhere. And with a wider audience: the Birkin bag is today enormously collectible and sales of new bags are managed by Hermes to counter reselling and hoarding.
A huge array of limited and special editions of Birkin bags have been produced since the line was introduced in the 1980s.
Crocodile leather, white gold and diamonds add value to this standout Birkin bag, which takes the shape and makes it a limited-edition spectacular demanding $450,000 at auction.
Date, condition and rarity are all key to value, but most bags – in the best condition – should be worth upwards of $20,000.
The most valuable Birkin bag ever sold was a Himalaya Birkin 30 that realised $450,000 in 2022, a price partly due to exclusive, diamond-studded, white-gold fittings.
There is no published estimate on the original Birkin bag, which might fairly be called priceless until the sale on June 26 in Paris.
