The iconic Birkin handbag, Le Birkin, originally owned by the late British singer and actress Jane Birkin, has sold for a record €8.6 million (approximately £7.4 million or $10 million) at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris. This sale marks it as the most expensive fashion accessory ever sold at auction in Europe, and the second most expensive fashion item overall.
The black leather bag, known for its distinctive worn appearance with scratches and stickers, embodies the effortless style of its namesake. Its condition reflects years of use by Birkin, further adding to its unique provenance and appeal to collectors. The prototype of the bag by the French luxury goods firm had been expected to fetch a six-figure sum. In the event, bidding opened at Sotheby’s at €1m, drawing gasps from the room, and rose swiftly during a 10-minute battle between nine collectors, some bidding by phone and online. The final offer reportedly drew gasps and thunderous applause from the attendees at the “Fashion Icons” sale, held during Haute Couture Week.
The Le Birkin prototype is embossed with the initials JB. It is a different size to later production models, has a shoulder strap and features brass hardware, later replaced with gold-plate rings, clasps and “feet”.
The winner was a private collector from Japan, Sotheby’s said on Thursday, adding that the “extraordinary” price made the handbag the world’s second-most valuable fashion item sold at auction, and the most valuable in Europe.
According to Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, this “spectacular sale…marks an important milestone in the history of fashion and the luxury industry.” She emphasized that 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.”
The Birkin prototype was “the starting point of an extraordinary story that has given us a modern icon, the Birkin bag, the most coveted handbag in the world”, Halimi added, and “a celebration of the enduring spirit and appeal of its muse, Jane Birkin”, who died in 2023.
The bag’s last owner, who was named as Catherine B and has not disclosed what she paid for it, said she was astonished by the result but also “profoundly moved by the way others have invested so much fervour trying to acquire what they desired beyond words.”
This original Birkin bag had changed hands twice since Birkin herself first put it up for sale at an auction in 1994, with proceeds benefiting an AIDS charity. The bag has since evolved into a powerful status symbol, cherished by celebrities and maintaining an aura of exclusivity due to its limited production and unpredictable distribution by Hermès.
The previous record for a handbag sold at auction was held by a diamond-encrusted crocodile-skin Hermès Kelly 28, which fetched $513,040 in 2021. The most expensive fashion item ever sold remains the ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” which sold for $32.5 million in 2024.
