A Hermes Birkin bag, the first ever designed for Jane Birkin, sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at Sotheby’s Paris on Thursday, setting a handbag auction record. The collector’s piece sparked a bidding war, reaching 7 million euros before fees, Sotheby’s said.
The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58 million euros ($10 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag.
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The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby’s website showed.
“After weeks of anticipation, the bidding opened at 1 million euros – prompting a gasp from the room,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
The final buyer, who eclipsed eight other rivals, was a “private collector from Japan“, the auction house added, without giving further details.
The previous record price for a handbag at auction was set by a diamond-encrusted crocodile skin Hermes Kelly 28, which fetched $513,000 in 2021 at Christie’s in Hong Kong.
Sotheby’s had advised that the Birkin prototype was expected to beat that level during its sale.
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But the staggering price tag for a well-worn item is in keeping with the fashion world’s recent flashy aesthetics.
After years of so-called “quiet luxury” dominating catwalks, designers have embraced more ostentatious looks in recent seasons that have been dubbed “boom boom” by some trend forecasters.
Modern-day Birkin bags are offered by Hermes to loyal clients, with prices starting at around $10,000.
‘Nostalgic’
The original Birkin has changed hands twice since being put up for sale by Birkin at an auction in 1994 where the proceeds went to an AIDS charity, according to Sotheby’s.
Thursday’s sale represents an extraordinary pay day for owner Catherine Benier, who has a boutique in the upmarket 6th district in Left Bank Paris.
She said she was “astonished at the result” in a statement sent by Sotheby’s.
“I’m already very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but extremely happy it has found a new loving home,” she added.
She told The New York Times before the sale that the bag, which she bought at auction 25 years ago, was the “jewel in my collection”.
The bag is now the second-most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction, Sotheby’s said.
The record was established by a pair of ruby red slippers worn by actor Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024 in Dallas, Texas.