Birkin Bag Original is sold for a $ 10 million record at the Paris auction

The original bag made for actress Jane Birkin, who inspired one of the most emblematic accessories in the history of modern fashion, was sold for a record of € 8.6 million ($ 10.04 million) in a Sotheby auction in Paris on Thursday.

According to Fashion Lore, Birkin's first bag was created after the Franco-British actress and singer sat next to the Hermès Jean-Louis Dumas executive on a flight in 1984 and mentioned that she needed a bag that was elegant and functional for her life as a young mother.

According to reports, Dumas drew the concept halfway, designing a rectangular bag with space specifically for bottles.

Hermès produced that prototype for Birkin, then launched smaller versions to the public. The now legendary design quickly gained popularity and became a cornerstone of the brand's identity and commercial success.

Birkin's standard bags are sold today for more than $ 10,000, but this original, which presents Birkin's initials in the flap and a non -determinable shoulder strap, unlike later versions, a private buyer was sold on the phone in Japan, according to Sotheby's.

The final offer established a new record for the most expensive fashion article ever sold at an auction.

“It was a travel bag. Clearly, Jane Birkin used it for nine years daily, and the form is still very beautiful,” said Aurélie Vasssy, director of the bags and fashion department at Sotheby's Europe and Middle East, in an interview with Reuters.

Birkin originally auctioned the bag in 1994 to raise funds for Sidaction, a French beneficial organization that supports the fight against HIV/AIDS. He changed his hands again in 2000, when a French private collector bought it.

When Jane Birkin died in 2023, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, called her the “most Parisian of the English”, a tribute to her deep connection with the French capital.

Born in the United Kingdom, Birkin moved to France at the end of the 1960s and became known not only for his work in cinema and music, particularly the provocative success “Je t'aime … Moi non plus”, but also for his activism and humanitarian contributions.