Abstract
- Jane Birkin’s authentic Hermès bag bought for a staggering $10 million USD
- This makes it the most costly purse ever auctioned, reflecting its distinctive origin and cultural standing
The last word image of luxurious and an icon born from a serendipitous airplane encounter, Jane Birkin’s authentic Hermès bag has bought at public sale for an astounding $10.1 million (8.6 million euros), together with charges. The sale, performed by Sotheby’s in Paris, has shattered earlier data, making it the most costly purse ever bought at public sale and the second most useful vogue merchandise in public sale historical past.
The prototype, famously sketched out on an air illness bag by Birkin throughout a 1981 flight with then-Hermès head Jean-Louis Dumas, was handcrafted for her in 1984 and delivered in 1985. Birkin used the battered black leather-based bag each day till 1994, even adorning it with stickers from Médecins du Monde and UNICEF, and incorporating sensible particulars like a nail clipper. These private touches and its distinctive origins distinguish it from all subsequent industrial Birkin baggage, which turned a world image of exclusivity and excessive vogue.
The ten-minute bidding struggle noticed 9 collectors vying for the piece, with a non-public collector from Japan finally securing the legendary bag. Its sale value eclipses the earlier report for a purse, a diamond and crocodile Kelly bag that bought for $513,040 USD in 2021, and much surpasses a white-diamond Himalaya Birkin that fetched $450,000 USD in 2022. Earlier than the bidding, auctioneer Aurélie Vandevoorde stated, “Immediately, the Birkin has grow to be a veritable vogue icon,” calling it “essentially the most well-known bag of all time.”
Sotheby’s International Head of Purses and Vogue, Morgane Halimi, referred to as the sale “an essential milestone,” stating, “It’s unbelievable to suppose {that a} bag initially designed by Hermès as a sensible accent for Jane Birkin, has grow to be essentially the most fascinating bag in historical past.” The staggering value displays not solely the bag’s rarity and provenance but in addition its deep cultural significance as a chunk of vogue historical past intertwined with the lifetime of its muse, Jane Birkin, who handed away in 2023.
