Jane Birkin’s Original Hermès Bag Sells for a Jaw-Dropping $10.1 Million at Auction
Jane Birkin‘s original Birkin bag has found a new owner.
The black leather Hermès purse—designed by the French label’s former chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas in the early ’80s during a chance meeting with the late actress—was sold for $10.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris July 10.
Nine collectors across the globe competed in a 10-minute bidding war through phone, online and in-person, according to the auction house. An unidentified buyer from Japan offered up $7.2 million, then $7.6 million, then $7.9 million before landing the winning bid.
As the story goes, the bag was created after Dumas noticed how Birkin was carrying her belongings in a wicker basket during a Paris-to-London flight. As the two started chatting, Birkin shared her frustrations in how handbags at the time were too small to carry all of her belongings.
Hermès created a prototype to fit Birkin’s needs. Though she was eventually gifted four other pieces, the Death on the Nile star continued to carry her original bag for a decade before parting ways with it in 1994. (Birkin passed away in 2023 at age 76.)
