PARIS (AP) — The distinctive and unique Birkin bag that style home Hermès made for actor and singer Jane Birkin offered for 7 million euros (about $8.2 million) at public sale in Paris on Thursday.
The massive quantity blew previous what auctioneer Sotheby’s had stated was the earlier document for a purse.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows beneath.
PARIS (AP) — Sketched out on an air illness bag, it grew to become style’s must-have accent.
The unique Birkin bag, named after the actor, singer and style icon that Hermès created it for — the late Jane Birkin — is up for public sale in Paris on Thursday.
The so-called Unique Birkin is predicted to fetch a whole lot of 1000’s of euros ({dollars}) on the sale by Sotheby’s.
The Paris style home completely commissioned the bag for the London-born star in 1984 — branding it together with her initials J.B on the entrance flap, beneath the lock — and delivered the completed one-of-a-kind bag to her the next 12 months, the public sale home stated. The next commercialized model of Birkin’s bag went on to grow to be one of many world’s most unique luxurious objects, extravagantly priced and with a years-long ready listing.
A style accent born of an opportunity dialog
The bag was born of a fortuitous encounter on a London-bound flight within the Eighties with the then head of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas. Birkin recounted in subsequent interviews that the pair received speaking after she spilled a few of her issues on the cabin ground.
Birkin requested Dumas why Hermès didn’t make an even bigger purse and sketched out on an airplane vomit bag the form of hold-all that she would love. He then had an instance made for her and, flattered, she agreed when Hermès requested whether or not it may commercialize the bag in her title.
“There isn’t a doubt that the Unique Birkin bag is a real one-of-a-kind — a singular piece of style historical past that has grown right into a popular culture phenomenon that alerts luxurious in essentially the most refined manner doable. It’s unbelievable to suppose {that a} bag initially designed by Hermès as a sensible accent for Jane Birkin has grow to be essentially the most fascinating bag in historical past,” stated Sotheby’s head of purses and style, Morgane Halimi.
The bag grew to become so well-known that Birkin as soon as mused earlier than her demise in 2023 at age 76 that her obituaries would possible “say, ‘Just like the bag’ or one thing.”
“Effectively, it could possibly be worse,” she added.
Seven design options set The Unique aside
Sotheby’s stated seven design components on the handcrafted all-black leather-based prototype set it aside from Birkins that adopted.
It’s the one Birkin with a non-removable shoulder strap — becoming for the busy life and practicality of the singer, actor, social activist and mom who was additionally identified for her romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg and their duets that included the steamy 1969 track “Je t’aime moi non plus” (“I Love You, Me Neither”).
Her bag additionally had a nail clipper connected as a result of Birkin “was by no means one for lengthy painted nails,” Sotheby’s stated.
The bag that Hermès hand-made for her, developed off its present Haut A Courroies mannequin, additionally has gilded brass {hardware}, backside studs and different options that differ from industrial Birkins.
Birkin’s informal, breezy type within the Nineteen Sixties and early Nineteen Seventies — lengthy hair with bangs, denims paired with white tops, knit mini clothes and basket luggage — nonetheless epitomizes the peak of French stylish for a lot of ladies around the globe.
The prototype has twice modified arms
When Birkin chatted to Hermès’ Dumas on the Paris-to-London flight about what her ultimate purse could be, she’d been within the behavior of carrying her issues round in a wicker basket, as a result of she felt purses within the Eighties had been too small, Sotheby’s stated. She was touring together with her younger daughter, Charlotte, and complained that she couldn’t discover a bag appropriate for her wants as a mom, Hermès says.
Hermès later gifted her 4 different Birkin luggage. She stored the prototype for practically ten years earlier than auctioning it for an AIDS charity in 1994. It was auctioned once more in 2000 and has since been in non-public arms, Sotheby’s stated.
“Greater than only a bag, the Birkin has advanced from a sensible accent to grow to be a timeless cultural icon,” the public sale home stated.
“Its presence spans the worlds of music, movie, tv and the humanities,” it added. “It’s a red-carpet staple, a style journal mainstay, and a coveted piece within the wardrobes of celebrities, artists and stylists.”
___
Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France.
