The Birkin That Started It All; And Why It’s Now Worth 10 Million

It all started with an encounter at 30,000 feet, when British singer Jane Birkin’s straw bag toppled its contents into the aisle, catching the eye of Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas. Traveling with her young daughter Charlotte, Jane began gathering everything back into the bag and remarked that there was never a bag large enough to hold all her belongings. In that beautifully chaotic moment, an idea took flight; Dumas, who was seated close by, sketched a design on the back of an airplane sick bag, promising Jane a creation that would hold everything. And just like that, the iconic Birkin was born: an accessory hand-designed to carry a life while still embodying elegance. The rest became the legacy of understated French luxury.

And now, the very first Birkin ever crafted - handmade in 1984 as a prototype for Jane herself, has shattered records at Sotheby’s Paris, selling for an astonishing €8.58 million ($10 million), making it the most expensive handbag ever auctioned.

But this was never your standard Birkin. The Original Birkin is a hybrid size with the width and height of a Birkin 35 but the depth of a Birkin 40. It carries details that were never recreated: closed metal rings similar to the HAC model, gilded brass hardware, smaller bottom studs, and a non-removable shoulder strap, a feature discontinued in later designs. Inside, a nail clipper dangles discreetly from the strap, and her initials J.B. remain stamped within; small reminders of the muse who carried it daily for nine years, often adorning it with stickers supporting Médecins du Monde and UNICEF. To Jane Birkin, this was never just a bag. It was so much more. It became her daily companion, her protest placard, her catchall for scripts, shopping lists and even baby bottles.

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After Jane, the bag passed to collector Catherine B. before being preserved in museum condition and exhibited at MOMA in New York and the V&A in London. Purchased by Valuence Japan at Sotheby’s, it was destined to be a cultural artefact rather than passed on for resale, a testament to design innovation, feminine practicality and the gentle influence of a muse who taught the world to carry their life with both style and nonchalance.

This is the Birkin: a revolutionary idea conceived mid-flight that became an icon outliving its namesake’s needs and a story to be told and retold to lovers of fashion history.