The
Original Birkin Sells for $10 Million
A lively
bidding war led to the Hermès prototype, which was created for the actress Jane
Birkin, selling for far more than expected.
Alisha
Haridasani Gupta Marisa Meltzer
By Alisha
Haridasani Gupta and Marisa Meltzer
July 10,
2025
The original
Hermès Birkin bag that was designed for the actress Jane Birkin was sold at
auction in Paris on Thursday for more than $10 million, becoming the most
valuable fashion item sold at auction in Europe, according to Sotheby’s. The
sale surpassed even a hat that had belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.
“Today, the
Birkin has become a veritable fashion icon,” said the auctioneer, Aurélie
Vandevoorde, before the bidding started. It is, in fact, “the most famous bag
of all time.”
Guests at
the auction — many carrying their own Birkins — estimated that the prototype
bag would sell for roughly $1 million to $2 million. But the bidding opened at
$1.7 million, prompting gasps from the room. Within seconds, higher bids
started flying in. As the price ticked up, the room erupted into cheers and
claps. In the end, the bag went to a private collector from Japan, with the
final price of 8.6 million euros ($10.1 million) including a buyer’s premium.
The
prototype, made in 1984, is marked with Ms. Birkin’s initials and includes a
nail clipper that the actress had hung on the outside of the bag. It is also
crafted differently than the ones sold today.
And, of
course, it carries with it the storied beginnings of the Birkin. According to
fashion legend, Ms. Birkin was on an Air France flight to London from Paris
when the contents of her tattered basket bag — wallet, keys, business cards,
diapers, cigarettes, glasses — spilled out onboard. Her seatmate happened to be
Jean-Louis Dumas, then the chief executive of Hermès, who witnessed this and
discussed with Ms. Birkin ideas for a bag that could fit all of her
necessities. They began to sketch it out together on an airsickness bag.
The final
price for the prototype surprised even the current owner of the bag, Catherine
Benier, who had purchased it at an auction in 2000 for an undisclosed price.
The bag was previously sold by Ms. Birkin at a charity auction for AIDS in
1994.
“I am
astonished at the result but, as a passionate collector myself, I am first and
foremost profoundly moved by the way other collectors have invested so much
fervor in trying to acquire what they clearly desired beyond words,” Ms.
Benier, the owner of the Les 3 Marches de Catherine B vintage shop in Paris,
said in a statement. “It made me relive my own bidding battle, 25 years ago.”
“I’m already
very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but
extremely happy it has found a new loving home,” she added.
The previous
auction record for a handbag was also for an Hermès bag: a white crocodile
Kelly that sold for $513,040 in 2021, according to Sotheby’s.
The original
Birkin, however, fell short of the most expensive fashion accessory ever sold
at auction: the ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, worn by Judy Garland,
which fetched over $32 million last year.
Alisha
Haridasani Gupta is a Times reporter covering women’s health and health
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