Jane Birkin with her namesake bag
July, 2025
Prototype of bag once owned by British-born singer and actor is most expensive fashion accessory sold at auction in Europe
A unique but worn Hermès handbag made for the singer and actress Jane Birkin has been sold in Paris for €8.6 million, making it the most expensive fashion accessory ever sold at auction in Europe.
The original battered Birkin bag was used for nine years by France's favorite 'petite Anglaise' and still bears traces of the stickers she applied to the black leather.
The prototype bag from the French luxury goods manufacturer was expected to fetch a six-figure sum. But the bidding opened at Sotheby's at €1m, which made the room gasp, and rose rapidly during a 10-minute battle between nine collectors, some of whom bid by phone and online.
The winner was a private collector from Japan, Sotheby's said, adding that the 'extraordinary' price made the handbag the second most valuable fashion item in the world to be sold at auction, and the most valuable in Europe.
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global head of handbags and fashion, said the sale was a 'startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its ability to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with a unique provenance'.
The Birkin prototype was the starting point of an extraordinary story that has given us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the world's most coveted handbag, Halimi added, and a celebration of the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin, who died in 2023.
The last owner of the bag, whose name is Catherine B and did not disclose what she paid for it, said she was amazed by the result, but also deeply moved by the way others put so much energy into getting what they wanted so badly.
Le Birkin, which sells new for thousands and second-hand for hundreds of thousands, was created after a chance airborne encounter between Birkin, best known outside France for the erotic hit Je T'aime Moi Non Plus, and the head of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas.
The British-born singer and actor, who starred in some 70 films and was one half of France's most acclaimed celebrity couple with singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg for more than a decade, told Dumas she could not find a bag big enough for her needs.
The prototype is embossed with the initials JB. The bag has a different size from later production models, a shoulder strap and brass hardware, which was later replaced by rings, clasps and 'footing' of gold leaf.