The original Birkin bag, the one designed by Hermès for the late actress Jane Birkin, is back in the spotlight this Wednesday. The Japanese company that acquired it in July 2024 for the record sum of 8.6 million euros (10 million dollars) from Sotheby’s in Paris, presented it to the media in Tokyo.
The concept for this bag actually originated on board a plane in 1984. The French-British actress and singer was sitting on a flight next to Hermès executive Jean-Louis Dumas and told him she needed an elegant yet practical bag to meet her needs as a new mother. And right around that time Dumas designed the design of the rectangular bag, with a specific compartment for baby bottles. The following year the bag was already a reality. Dumas gave it to Birkin and asked permission to name it after him.
After creating the custom Birkin bag, the company began making smaller versions for the mass market, achieving immediate success and fueling the brand’s expansion. Shinsuke Sakimoto, co-founder and CEO of Valuence Japan, the Japanese second-hand luxury resale company that acquired the Birkin bag, said the story of its creation reflects the company’s philosophy. “We believe that products should not be evaluated by their price, but by the stories they contain. That is, they should be evaluated by their meaning,” he said, before clarifying that in this case Valuence will not resell the piece, but will exhibit it in museums and the like. Purchasing it for 8.6 million (seven million plus commissions and taxes), the accessory became the most expensive bag in history.
Birkin herself auctioned it in 1994 to support Sidaction, a French charity that raises funds to fight AIDS.
