The It bag to end all It bags: Jane’s original Birkin Sells for $10.1 Million

Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag sold for a record-breaking €7 million, totalling €8.6 million with fees, or $10.1 million, this afternoon at Sotheby’s in Paris. It is now the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.

The bidding opened at €1 million ($1.7 million), immediately shattering the previous record for the most expensive handbag ever sold, set in 2021 by the Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28 at $513,040. For context, a Birkin traditionally retails on the primary market for thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on size and materials. For over 10 minutes, nine collectors—for this premium lot, you had to be pre-registered—battled for the Birkin prototype. In the end, the handbag that changed history was sold to a private collector from Japan, bidding via phone.

The bag, conceptualised by Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas after a chance meeting with Birkin on a flight from Paris to London in 1981, is now one of the most recognised fashion luxury items in the world. It was expected to break records, though there was no public estimate released by Sotheby’s. 

“The spectacular sale of the Original Hermès Birkin today at Sotheby’s Paris marks an important milestone in the history of fashion and the luxury industry more widely. It is 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 Birkin prototype is exactly that, 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 Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, in an official statement.

Not only is the Original Birkin now the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction, but it set a record for most valuable luxury item ever sold at Sotheby’s Paris. The renowned handbag now takes its place as the second most valuable fashion item ever sold after a pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024.

All images: Courtesy of Sotheby's

This article first appeared on Harper's Bazaar.com

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