Yes, that’s right – ‘m’ for million. For a handbag. Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, said the price was a “startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance, to own its origin.”
The black leather bag was made for actress, singer and designer Jane Birkin in 1985 after she spilled her belongings while sitting next to Hermès fashion house executive Jean-Louis Dumas on an airplane. She asked him why they didn’t make bigger bags. She told Vogue in 2012: “I think I drew it on the sick bag—or the not-be-sick bag. And [Dumas] said, ‘I’ll make it for you.’”
The $15m bag was the prototype, with two rolled handles, a flap top, clou ‘feet,’ and a lock closure: a design mostly unchanged today. As the prototype it also has some unique features including Birkin’s initials on the front flap, a non-removable shoulder strap, the small silver nail clippers Birkin kept attached to the strap – she used the bag for a decade before donating it to a charity auction in 1994 – and marks where she put stickers for causes she supported, such as Médecins du Monde and Unicef.
“The Birkin prototype is the starting point of an extraordinary story that has given us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the most coveted handbag in the world,” said Halimi. The Birkin remains one of the most exclusive status symbols in fashion, with celebrity owners including Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham, who apparently has more than 100 of them. The value of the one-of-a-kind bags has increased with the popularity of the commercial models available from resellers, says Hanushka Toni, the CEO of Sellier, a UK-based curated luxury resale platform. “Now that everyone has the commercial models like the Birkin 25s, people with actual wealth want these one-of-a-kind, special bags,” she told Vogue. “I had a suspicion this would be the most expensive bag ever sold at auction, and I was proven right.”
What would the late Jane Birkin think of the price paid for her handbag? Gorgeous and chic but also wild and bohemian, she campaigned for abortion rights and against the political far right. She originally donated her bag, which was scuffed and lived-in, to an auction to raise money for an Aids charity in 1994. That’s a long way from $15.19m at Sotheby’s.
