Almost exactly two years after the death of singer and film star Jane Birkin, the original Birkin bag has sold at auction in Paris.
Hermès made the first Birkin bag in the 1980s after a famous chance encounter. Jane Birkin was on the same flight from Paris to London as then-chief executive, Jean-Louis Dumas, cousin of current chief executive, Axel Dumas.
She complained that she could not find a tote bag that suited her and was carrying her belongings in a straw basket instead. When she attempted to place the basket in the overhead locker of the aircraft, many of her personal effects fell to the floor. Mr Dumas helped her to pick them up and promised to make something better for her, resulting in the now-famous Birkin bag.
Sotheby’s announced on July 10 that a private collector from Japan had bought the bag “after 10 minutes of heated bidding”. The bag sold for €8.6 million, making it the most valuable bag ever sold at auction.
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