Original Birkin bag sells for record $10 million at Paris auction

The original bag custom-made for actress Jane Birkin — which went on to inspire one of the most iconic accessories in modern fashion history — sold for a record €8.6 million ($10.04 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Thursday.

According to fashion lore, the first Birkin bag was created after the Franco-British actress and singer sat beside Hermès executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight in 1984 and mentioned she needed a bag that was both elegant and functional for her life as a young mother.

Dumas reportedly sketched the concept mid-flight, designing a rectangular handbag with space specifically for baby bottles.

Hermès produced that prototype for Birkin, later releasing smaller versions to the public. The now-legendary design quickly gained popularity and became a cornerstone of the brand’s identity and commercial success.

Standard Birkin bags today retail for over $10,000, but this original — which features Birkin’s “J.B.” initials on the flap and a non-detachable shoulder strap, unlike later versions — was sold by phone to a private buyer in Japan, according to Sotheby’s.

The final bid set a new record for the most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction.

“It was a travel bag. Clearly, it was worn for nine years by Jane Birkin on a daily basis, and the form is still very beautiful,” said Aurélie Vassy, head of the Handbags and Fashion Department at Sotheby’s Europe and Middle East, in an interview with Reuters.

Birkin originally auctioned the bag in 1994 to raise funds for Sidaction, a French charity supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS. It changed hands again in 2000, when a private French collector purchased it.

When Jane Birkin passed away in 2023, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called her the “most Parisian of the English,” a tribute to her deep connection with the French capital.

Born in the United Kingdom, Birkin moved to France in the late 1960s and became known not just for her work in film and music — particularly the provocative hit “Je t’aime… moi non plus” — but also for her activism and humanitarian contributions.