Sketched out on an air sickness bag, the first Birkin handbag — the prototype for fashion’s must-have accessory — sold for a staggering 8.6 million euros ($10.1 million), including fees, on Thursday in Paris to become the second most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction.
The winning bid of 7 million euros drew gasps and applause from the audience. The price crushed the previous auction record for a handbag — $513,040 paid in 2021 for a Hermès White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28.
Now, the original Birkin bag, named after the actor, singer and fashion icon that Hermès created it for — the late Jane Birkin — is in a new league of its own. Only one fashion item has sold at auction for more: a pair of ruby red slippers from “The Wizard of Oz”, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024, Sotheby’s said.