It's a record: the first ‘Birkin’ bag sold at auction for over 8 million euros

On 10 July, auction house Sotheby's created quite a stir when it sold Hermès' very first ‘Birkin bag’ for the modest sum of 8.582 million euros.

The ‘historic hand-made prototype’, engraved with the initials J.B., was designed especially for English actress and singer Jane Birkin (who died in 2023). As a little anecdote, on a flight from Paris to London, the fashion icon told her seat-mate how difficult it was for young mothers to find a handbag perfectly suited to their needs. And that neighbour was none other than the Hermès CEO at the time, Jean-Louis Dumas. So it was in 1984 that the very first ‘Birkin’ tote bag was born, with a space entirely dedicated to baby bottles.

And it was precisely this tote bag, designed in black leather and now one of the most expensive bags on the planet, that was ‘the centrepiece’ of the Fashion Icons auction, reports the media outlet 20 Minutes.

An exclusive product

Hermès, the saddler and leather goods manufacturer, has made this handbag an emblematic product, released in small quantities each year, cultivating a form of exclusivity. Its price, depending on the model, can range from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of euros.

(Olivia Stasse - Source : 20 Minutes - Illustration : ©Unsplash)