Jane Birkin's original Hermes bag auctioned off at record price
發佈日期: 2025-07-11 20:33
TVB News
An iconic piece of fashion history, making history again. The original Birkin bag from Hermes has fetched a record-breaking 8.6 million euros -- or 79 million Hong Kong dollars -- at a Paris auction.
Tattered but treasured. This scuffed black leather bag is the world's first Birkin, originally owned by British actress and singer Jane Birkin -- the very woman who inspired the now-iconic fashion piece.
In 1984, during her flight from Paris to London, the contents of her bag spilled onto the floor.
Birkin complained to her seatmate -- who happened to be the CEO of Paris fashion house Hermes. The CEO quickly sketched a design on an airline sickness bag, which became the blueprint for what would be named the Birkin bag.
This "Hermes original" bag features the singer's initials J.B. and shows two marks where stickers had once been placed.
Birkin used the bag for nearly nine years before donating it to a charity auction.
Since then, the bag has changed hands multiple times.
On Thursday, the auction for the original Birkin took place in Paris, starting at 1 million euros.
With fierce bidding from nine contenders, the hammer fell at 8.6 million euros within just ten minutes. The winning bidder is a private collector from Japan.
MORGANE HALIMI, Sotheby's Global Head of Handbags and Fashion Department: "It tells the story of the Birkin and it tells how the Birkin was born. It's not every day that you can meet the origin of a myth and this is one."
The sale sets the highest price ever paid for a fashion item in Europe and the second-highest globally.
