On 16 July 2023, Jane Birkin passed away at her Paris home at the age of 76. The beloved actress, singer, and style icon once joked in an interview, "Bless me, when I’m dead, ... (people) will possibly only talk about the bag."
That bag, of course, was the Birkin – the now-iconic Hermès handbag inspired by and named after her.
Two years later, on 10 July 2025, the original prototype Birkin, custom-made by Hermès for Birkin herself, came to auction at Sotheby’s. Visibly worn and marked by years of use, it nonetheless ignited a fierce bidding war. After ten minutes, the hammer fell at €7 million, with a final price of €8.582 million (US$10.1 million) after premium. The buyer was a collector from Japan.
The sale set a new world record for any handbag sold at auction – surpassing the previous high set in 2021, when a Hermès Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28 sold at Christie’s Hong Kong for HK$4 million (US$513,000).
[UPDATED] The buyer was Valuence Japan Inc., a circular design company focused on sustainability and cultural preservation. In a statement, the company said the acquisition “was not intended for resale,” but to “preserve global cultural heritage and make it accessible to the public.” A press unveiling will be held in Japan upon the bag’s arrival, with exhibition details to follow.
Jane Birkin and the original Birkin
Lot 8 | Hermès, The Original Birkin Crafted For Jane Birkin
Black Box Birkin Brass Hardware, 1985
Features non-removable strap and Jane Birkin's initials
36 x 21 x 27 cm
Provenance (Supplemented by The Value):
- Jane Birkin
- Millon, Paris, Les enchéres de I'espoir, Association Solidarité Sida, Wednesday, October 5, 1994, Théâtre de l'Empire (donated for the charity auction by Jane Birkin)
- Poulain Le Fur, Paris, Friday May 12 2000, lot 70 (Sold to Catherine Benier)
- Private collection, France (Catherine Benier)
Exhibited:
- New York, Moma, Items: Is Fashion Modern?, 2018
- London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Bags Inside Out, 2020
Estimate Upon Request
Hammer Price: €7,000,000
Sold: €8,582,500
Auction House: Sotheby's Paris
Sale: Fashion Icons including The Original Birkin
Date: 10 July 2025
Nine Bidders, 25 Bids: A Paris Dealer’s Long-Held Treasure Finds a New Home
In most cases, even when a lot is listed as “Estimate Upon Request,” the auction house will offer the media a discreet price range. This time, however, Sotheby’s remained tight-lipped – the only confirmed detail was that the bag had been backed by a third-party Irrevocable Bid (IB), a guarantee that it would not go unsold.
At around 4 p.m. Paris time, the one-of-a-kind prototype Birkin was brought to the block. The opening bid of €1 million instantly broke the auction record for any handbag.
Over the next ten minutes, nine collectors placed roughly 25 bids. The hammer fell at €7 million, with a final price of €8.582 million (US$10.1 million) including premium. The winning bidder, with paddle number 149, was a Japanese collector on the phone with Maiko Ichikawa, who heads Sotheby’s Japan.
The seller, Catherine Benier, owner of a Paris vintage luxury boutique, had acquired the bag at auction in 2000. While the sale price was never disclosed, some Western media outlets estimated it to be under six figures in euros at the time.
Hammer falls at €7 million after ten minutes of bidding
The seller, Catherine Benier, with the original Birkin
The Actress-Turned-Singer and the Song That Scandalized Europe
British-born Jane Birkin first caught the world’s attention in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow-Up. But her influence soon stretched far beyond the silver screen. After moving to France, she shifted into music – and quickly became a household name across the Channel.
In her new romantic homeland, she met iconic French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. The two began a passionate 12-year relationship, both personal and creative. Their collaboration produced numerous classics, none more famous – or infamous – than Je t’aime… moi non plus (“I love you… me neither”).
With its provocative lyrics and Birkin’s breathy, erotic delivery, the song was banned from the radio in several countries and condemned across Europe. Even in France, it was confined to late-night airplay. The Vatican joined the backlash, with its official newspaper denouncing the track and reportedly excommunicating the Italian distributor.
But as history often proves, banning something only makes it more tempting. Within months, the single had sold over three million copies and topped the UK Singles Chart – becoming the first foreign-language song ever to do so. It swept across Europe like wildfire.
Jane Birkin first caught the world’s attention in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow-Up
Je t’aime… moi non plus took Europe by storm
Effortless Style: The Rise of the Wicker Basket
Jane Birkin wasn’t just a singer, actress, model, and director – she was a fashion icon. Her laid-back, effortlessly chic style helped define an era and continues to inspire designers today.
In the 1970s, her signature accessory wasn’t a designer handbag but a large, inexpensive wicker basket. Whether shopping at the market, dancing at clubs, attending society events, or walking the red carpet at Cannes, Birkin would toss in her essentials and carry it with nonchalance.
Somehow, it always worked. From jeans and T-shirts to floral sundresses and evening gowns, the basket never looked out of place.
Her unlikely choice sparked a trend that still echoes today. Designers like Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, and Polène have all released their own elevated takes on the humble woven tote.
Birkin often tossed her essentials into a large wicker basket
Birkin would pair a basket bag with an evening gown
A Bag Born at 30,000 Feet: The Origin of the Birkin
The story of the world's most coveted handbag began with an in-flight accident.
In 1981, Jane Birkin was flying with her young daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, on an Air France flight. Seated beside her was Jean-Louis Dumas, then the artistic director of Hermès. As she tried to shove her basket into the overhead compartment, its contents spilled – some landing in Dumas’s lap.
Birkin took the opportunity to vent her frustration: she couldn’t find a practical, stylish bag big enough for everyday use. Inspired, Dumas began sketching. The Birkin bag was born.
In 1985, Hermès presented her with a prototype and asked permission to name the bag after her. The design borrowed heavily from the original Haut à Courroies (HAC) and included features never seen in production models.
The prototype Birkin features a non-detachable shoulder strap
The prototype uses closed metal rings for strap attachment
Eight Unique Features of the Original Birkin
- Shoulder Strap: One of just two Birkins known to have a shoulder strap – and the only one with a non-detachable design.
- Hybrid Size: Features the width and height of a Birkin 35 with the depth of a Birkin 40.
- Hardware: Fitted with unplated brass hardware, gilded brass hardware, which were replaced by gold-plated hardware (with a check mark) and also rose gold, palladium or ruthenium in later models
- Metal Rings: Features closed metal rings like the HAC; early Birkins used open-bottom rings, later replaced by top-open designs.
- Bottom Stud: The metal feet on the base are smaller than those found on standard production bags.
- Inner Zip: Uses a zipper made by Éclair; post-1990s Birkins transitioned to Riri zippers.
- Monogram: The interior flap is stamped with Birkin’s initials, “J.B.”
- Nail Clipper: In a typically Birkin touch, she attached a nail clipper to the chain.
The front flap is stamped with the initials “J.B.”; to the right, a nail clipper personally attached by Jane Birkin
The base studs of the prototype are smaller than those on later production models
Worn, stickered, and its first farewell at a Paris charity auction
Despite being custom-made by the world’s most prestigious luxury house, Birkin treated the bag with the same carefree spirit that defined her style – not as something to be preserved, but as a practical object used in daily life.
Signs of that life remain – most notably, two faint circles on the front, left behind by stickers from Médecins du Monde and UNICEF.
A vocal supporter of both organizations, Birkin used the bag to make a statement. She carried the prototype for about a decade before donating it in 1994 to raise funds for Association Solidarité Sida, a French charity focused on HIV/AIDS awareness. In 2000, it reappeared at auction and was acquired by Catherine Benier, who kept the bag in her private collection for 25 years.
During that time, she loaned it to major exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Jane Birkin with the original Birkin
Two faint circles on the front remain from stickers of the Médecins du Monde and UNICEF logos
All for a Cause: Birkin’s Humanitarian Legacy
On stage, Jane Birkin was a magnetic performer. Off stage, she was a tireless humanitarian, deeply engaged in causes ranging from human rights to refugee protection and public health. Remarkably, she donated all five Birkins – including the original – she ever received to charity auctions.
One notable example was her 35 cm black Togo leather Birkin, donated in 2014 to Anno’s Africa, a UK charity named after her late nephew, the poet Anno Birkin. The organization provides arts education for children in Africa.
In 2021, that bag went under the hammer at Bonhams London, originally estimated at just £15,000. Fierce bidding pushed the final price to £119,000.
Togo leather Birkin gifted to Jane Birkin | Sold for £119,000 at Bonhams London in 2021
Inside the Togo leather Birkin, Jane Birkin’s signature is handwritten in correction fluid