Jane Birkin's Hermès bag auctioned for over 260 billion VND

Sketched on an airsickness bag, the first Hermès Birkin bag sold for a staggering $10.1 million on July 10 in Paris, becoming the second most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction.

This record auction price made the audience gasp and applaud when it broke the previous auction record for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28 handbag with 513,040 USD purchased in 2021.

Birkin bag sold for more than 260 billion VND

PHOTO: REUTERS

The original Birkin bag, named after the late actress, singer and fashion icon Jane Birkin (1946-2023), has reached new heights. Previously, the highest auctioned fashion item was the ruby ​​red slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024, according to Sotheby's.

The Paris auction room was abuzz with bidding. The auction began with the auctioneer reminding the crowd that the bag was “absolutely unique” and “the most famous bag of all time.”

The auction started at $1.17 million but quickly rose, with telephone bidders scrambling to close. After Sotheby's auction fees were included, the total for the winner, a private collector from Japan, was $10.1 million, the auction house said.

Sotheby's did not disclose the identity of the buyer. Nine collectors, who bid by phone, online and in person at the auction house, competed in the 10-minute auction.

"Unique" Hermès bag

In 1984, Paris-based fashion house Hermès commissioned the bag exclusively for London-born artist Jane Birkin, engraving her initials JB on the flap beneath the clasp and delivering the finished, one-of-a-kind bag to the artist the following year, according to Sotheby's. The subsequent commercialized version of the Birkin bag has become one of the world's most exclusive luxury items, with a hefty price tag and a multi-year wait for delivery.

The bag was born after a chance encounter on a flight to London in the 1980s with Jean-Louis Dumas, then CEO of Hermès. Jane Birkin later recalled in interviews that the two got talking after she spilled some of her belongings on the plane floor.

Birkin asked Dumas why Hermès didn't make a larger bag and sketched an airplane sick bag. That's the kind of bag she wanted. Dumas then designed a model for her. Jane Birkin agreed when Hermès asked if they could commercialize the bag under her name.

Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's Director of Handbags and Fashion, said: "There is no doubt that the Original Birkin bag is a one-of-a-kind piece – a unique piece of fashion history that has evolved into a pop culture phenomenon, expressing luxury in the most refined way possible. It is incredible that a bag originally designed by Hermès as a practical accessory for Jane Birkin has become the most coveted bag in history."

The bag has the initials JB engraved on the flap.

PHOTO: AP

The bag became so popular that Jane Birkin mused before her death in 2023 at the age of 76 that her obituary might read: "I love this bag."

This is the only Birkin bag with a fixed shoulder strap - suitable for the busy life and practicality of the singer, actress, and social activist.

The bag also comes with a nail clipper, as Birkin "never liked long nail polish," Sotheby's said.

The bag that Hermès handcrafts for Birkin has gold-plated brass, rivets at the bottom and other features that set it apart from commercial Birkin bags.

Hermès later gifted the artist four other Birkin bags. She kept the first for nearly a decade, before auctioning it off to an AIDS charity in 1994. The bag was auctioned again in 2000 and has been privately owned ever since.

The previous owner, who identified herself only as Catherine B., told reporters at the auction that the bag "has all the makings of a star."

“The price paid is the price of the Hermès story,” said Catherine, while Sotheby’s called it “more than a bag.”

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tui-hermes-cua-jane-birkin-ban-dau-gia-hon-260-ti-dong-1852507110804118.htm