PARIS, France — July 11, 2025 — The original Hermès Birkin bag, once owned by British-French icon Jane Birkin herself, has sold for a staggering $10.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris, setting a new world record as the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction.
The bag, widely regarded as a fashion legend and the first of its kind, was sold to an undisclosed buyer during Sotheby’s “Fashion Icons” sale on Thursday. Bidding began at $1.1 million and quickly escalated. Within a minute, the price soared past $3 million, ultimately climbing over the $10 million mark after just nine minutes of spirited competition in the room.
“This is a one-of-a-kind piece of fashion history,” said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion. “The Original Birkin bag is more than a luxury accessory — it is a symbol of timeless design and cultural significance.”
A Chance Encounter that Redefined Luxury
The Birkin bag’s origin is rooted in a chance meeting in the early 1980s. During an Air France flight, actress and singer Jane Birkin was seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, then the artistic director of Hermès. As Birkin struggled with her belongings in the overhead compartment, the two began a conversation about her need for a practical yet stylish bag large enough to accommodate all her essentials.
“I said: ‘Why don’t you make a bag that’s sort-of four times the [size of the] Kelly that you could just leave open and sort of half the size of my suitcase?’” Birkin recalled in a 2020 interview. “He said: ‘Well, draw it for me.’ And I think I drew it on the sick bag, a vomit bag in the airplane.”
The result of that impromptu sketch became the prototype for the Hermès Birkin — now one of the most coveted handbags in the world. In 1985, Hermès produced the first version and offered it to Birkin, naming the model in her honor.
A Cultural Phenomenon
Over the decades, the Birkin bag has become a global symbol of wealth, exclusivity, and refined taste. With modern iterations retailing between $20,000 and over $100,000, the bags are famously elusive — made in limited quantities and offered to only select clients.
This particular bag, dubbed The Original Birkin, differs in several notable ways from the luxury versions seen on celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss. It features a shoulder strap not included in commercial releases and brass hardware by Éclair, as opposed to the gold-plated accents from Riri introduced in later models.
The bag was acquired in 2000 by Catherine B, founder of the Paris vintage boutique Les 3 Marches. Prior to the sale, it had been displayed in prestigious institutions including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Legacy of a Style Icon
Jane Birkin, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 76, remains an enduring icon of effortless Parisian chic. Beyond her contributions to fashion, she was an accomplished singer, actress, and humanitarian. The bag she inspired — and once owned — represents not just luxury, but a pivotal moment in fashion history.
The bag had originally been donated by Birkin herself to a charity auction in the 1990s, further enhancing its cultural and emotional value.
As the gavel fell in Paris, the legacy of the Birkin bag was solidified not just as a luxury status symbol, but as a rare artifact of design, celebrity, and storytelling — now worth more than $10 million.
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