The History of the Birkin Bag

By Alexus Mosley

A brief synopsis into the holy grail of handbags

The Hermès Birkin has become a quintessential accessory and is one of the most recognizable symbols of luxury fashion. In spite of its admiration, very few are aware of how the bag came to be.

Coined the “Queen of Handbags,” the conception of the Birkin bag isn’t one that would be guessed. In 1981, British actress and singer -star of 1968 psychedilic film- Jane Birkin was upgraded on her flight from Paris to London. Landing her a seat alongside Jean-Louise Dumas, Chief Executive of Hermès. Apprarently the items in Birkin’s signature oversized basket bag began to spill onto the floor. Her Hermès diary included. Legend has it that Birkin explained to Dumas that if she could find a leather weekend bag with pockets that was bigger than the Kelly bag (originally Sac à dépêches bag but renamed after Grace Kelly after gaining popularity from her admiration.) but smaller than her lover French musician and filmmaker Serge Gainsbourg’s suitcase, she would ditch the basket. Inspired, Dumas pulled out a pencil and airplane sick bag and it was there that the two collaborated on the design of the Birkin bag.

The bag made its debut in 1984 and quickly became synonymous with wealth and exclusivity. The most expensive Birkin bag, known as The Diamond Himalaya Birkin, sold at Christies’s auction for over in $380,000 in 2017, becoming the world’s most expensive handbag. Typically ranging from $8,500 to $200,000, finance experts such as Forbes and Bloomberg have suggested that an investment into a Birkin bag can be more promising than stock due to the fact that it is almost always appreciating. Vogue reports that demand for Hermes bags have increased 430 percent since March 2020.The pricing and rarity of the bag can be credited not only to the company’s brand awareness but the craftsmanship, as a single bag takes 20 to 48 hours of work or longer. Available from basic leather to crocodile, the bags are hand sewn using Hermès’ signature saddle stitching while the hardware is typically gold or palladium-played.

In 2015, Jane Birkin asked that Hermès rename the luxury bag after receiving PETA’s investigative report into the slaughter of crocodiles for the product. But not before dispersing its financial reward amongst those who are not as fortunate. "I got Hermès to fork out for my charities once I saw the fortune they were making," she says. "A certain amount of money every year goes straight to my charity and it will continue to after my death. This year I was able to [use some of that money] to go to Japan for a benefit concert after the earthquake. We use some of the money to feed the poor people who can’t afford to eat in France. I sold one of my Birkin bags for $163,000 to help the Japanese Red Cross. So that rather trivial piece of heavy luggage has done a lot of good in the world," she told WWD in 2011.

The “Holy grail of Handbags” has found almost as much popularity in pop culture as it has in fashion. Rapper Drake admitted he has collected a closet full for his future wife while Victoria Beckham is rumored to have at least one hundred of them. But no media reference has held quite as much influence as hit HBO series Sex and The City’s “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” episode.” Widely known as the “Birkin episode,” it chronicles Samantha Jones on a quest to score a Birkin. After being placed on a five-year waitlist, she is so desperate to get the “it bag” she resorts to lying and claiming that the bag is for celebrity client Lucy Liu and it is ultimately fired.

The waitlist is now being alluded to as the wishlist as the bags have only become more popular and even more difficult to come by. Nearly forty years after its genesis, the Birkin hasn’t lost its allure or prestige.