Did you know the real story behind the legendary Hermes Birkin - and the woman who inspired this pristine symbol of luxury? Far from treating it as a status piece to be hoarded in a closet, Jane Birkin valued the bag for its sheer practicality. In fact, instead of amassing an enviable collection, she owned just five Birkins in her lifetime, using each one as an everyday companion. She famously said she wanted a handbag that could “hold her entire life” - and she truly lived by that philosophy, redefining luxury through wear, utility, and a life well lived.
Paige Mengers, the founder of Phoenix Style, an online luxury resale brand, has traced the fascinating history of the legendary Hermes Birkin bag, and the story behind the woman who inspired it. In an Instagram video shared on October 25, she reveals that Jane Birkin - the woman who inspired the world’s most iconic symbol of luxury - did not amass a wardrobe of Birkin bags, but owned just five in her lifetime!
It all started back in…
Paige points out that Jane Birkin owned just five of these coveted bags in her entire lifetime - one original prototype, followed by four more that Hermes gifted her over the years. It all began in 1983, when Jean-Louis Dumas, then CEO of Hermes, found himself seated next to Jane Birkin on a flight. During their conversation, she joked that she needed a practical handbag - one large enough to “hold her entire life.” Taking her practical advice, Jean-Louis Dumas translated those ideas into a few quick sketches - and soon after, the iconic Birkin bag was born.
Jane’s collection
According to Paige, the first Birkin owned by Jane was the original leather prototype, which even had her initials stamped on the front flap. She explains, “Her first Birkin was the original leather prototype and it became legendary. It had her initials stamped on the front flap and she used it every single day until it was worn and covered in stickers. In 1994, she donated it to charity. And that exact same bag sold this year at Sotheby’s for over €8.6 million, making it the most expensive handbag ever sold.”
Hermes went on to gift her four more Birkins over the course of her life, and she famously remarked, “When one wears out, Hermes sends me another.” One of her later bags, affectionately nicknamed “Le Birkin Voyager,” bears Jane Birkin’s own handwriting along the inside of its base, reading, “My Birkin bag that traveled the world with me.” Paige states that this particular piece is set to be auctioned off in Abu Dhabi this month, making it one of the most anticipated luxury auctions of the season.
To Jane Birkin, these bags were not pristine status symbols to be collected and hidden away, but rather like a loyal travel companion; she used each one until it was completely exhausted, valuing their utility and the memories they gathered over the prestige of owning a vast collection. Paige concludes, “So, the woman who inspired a global luxury symbol didn't have a closet full of them. She just had five. But each one told the story of a life fully lived.”
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