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The original Hermès bag, which belonged to Jane Birkin and became the prototype for the Birkin model, was sold at auction by Sotheby's for $10.1 million, becoming the most expensive bag ever sold at auction, the BBC reports.
The buyer was a private collector from Japan, whose name was not disclosed.
The previous record was held by a Hermès Kelly bag made of crocodile skin and diamonds, which sold at auction in 2021 for $513,000.
The auction house said the Birkin bag sold after about 10 minutes of bidding from nine very interested bidders.
The most desired fashion accessory
The black leather bag was created for singer and actress Jane Birkin in 1985 after she dropped the bag while sitting next to Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on a plane, spilling all of its contents. Jane Birkin then asked her neighbor why the fashion house couldn't make larger bags with more convenient pockets.
Jean-Louis Dumas later drew a sketch of a handbag that matched the actress's wishes.
Later, the fashion house Hermès released a bag with this design for sale, and over time, this accessory became one of the most recognizable and desirable luxury accessories in the world.
In 1994, Jane Birkin sold her Hermès bag at auction to raise money for an AIDS charity.
Sotheby's auction house representative Morgan Halimi noted that the price at which the bag was sold demonstrates the "astonishing power of legend" and its ability to encourage collectors to acquire items with a unique history.
“The Birkin bag prototype is exactly that kind of thing, the thing that started an extraordinary story, the thing that gave us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the most coveted bag in the world,” Halimi said.
Some Birkin models now cost tens of thousands of dollars. Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez are among the owners of such bags.
