A version of the world’s most famous bag has just sold for a record €8.6 million (£7.4 million) at Sotheby’s Fashion Icons sale in Paris.

The hammer fell after a bidding war reportedly involving newlywed Amazon bride Lauren Sánchez.

Jeff Bezos can keep his credit card in his wallet though, as the successful bidder was a private collector from Japan, who bid by telephone through Maiko Ichikawa, the head of Sotheby’s Japan.

The item in question is the original prototype of the Hermès Birkin, created for Anglo-French actress Jane Birkin in 1985. With quirks including the style icon’s initials and a non-removable shoulder strap, it’s a bona fide piece of fashion history.

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“There is no doubt that the original Birkin bag is a true one of a kind – a singular piece of fashion history that has grown into a pop culture phenomenon that signals luxury in the most refined way possible,” says Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion.

The original Hermès Birkin prototype sold for a record €8.6 million at Sotheby’s Paris, sparking a two-minute standing ovation

“It is incredible to think that a bag initially designed by Hermès as a practical accessory for Jane Birkin has become the most desirable bag in history, and will most likely continue to be so for many years to come. The prototype that started it all carries a soul and legacy that no other handbag can claim.”

In London, luxury resale store Sellier has the largest stock of vintage Birkins. Its chief executive and founder, Hanushka Toni, was among those bidding today. “As someone who has built a business around sourcing and selling Hermès, and who has a personal obsession with the craftsmanship and cultural power of luxury handbags, the decision to bid on Le Birkin felt instinctive,” she says.

“I’ve always admired how effortlessly Jane Birkin wore the bag and how ‘lived in’ it was. That kind of authenticity gives this piece an emotional weight far beyond its price tag, which is why I travelled to Paris, because I knew this wasn’t just a handbag – it was a moment in fashion history. There is something quietly powerful about owning an item that carries both cultural legacy and intrinsic value. This particular Birkin isn’t just rare, it’s steeped in history, and so it’s likely its value will continue to grow over time, even now that the sale is over – another reason bidding on it appealed to me.”

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But just why is the Birkin so famous? And why is it so expensive?

Jane Birkin with her namesake bag in 2008 — worn, loved and utterly her own — a style legacy that still commands millions today - Thomas Samson/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Fittingly, the Birkin bag’s origin story begins in the first class cabin of an Air France flight from Paris to London in 1984. So far, so appropriate. Yet, in a way, the reason for its creation was rather less glamorous. It was, in essence, a glorified changing bag. At the time, the 37-year-old Birkin was feeling a little harassed on the flight, thanks in no small part to travelling alone with her young daughter, Lou Doillon. To make matters worse, her partner, the film director Jacques Doillon, had recently run over her beloved basket bag – one of her signature accessories – so she was using a different bag that day. When everything spilt out of it, the man seated next to her remarked that she ought to have one with pockets.

As she recalled to The Telegraph years later: “I said, ‘The day Hermès make one with pockets, I will have that’.”

Little did she know that the man she was sitting next to was Jean-Louis Dumas, then the chief executive of Hermès, who agreed to make one for her. Together, the pair spent the rest of the flight drawing Birkin’s dream bag, using the plane’s sick bag as their sketchpad. For Birkin, her main concern was capacity, as she found the bag’s of the era too small for her hectic life as a working mum. She wanted it “bigger than a Kelly” but “smaller than Serge’s suitcase”.

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And so, the Birkin was born.

When Birkin went to collect her design, Dumas proposed that instead of payment, they named the bag after her, much like they had with Grace Kelly’s namesake. “I was very flattered,” Birkin told The Telegraph later on.

“They’ve turned it into the success we know today. So now, when I go to America to sing, they say, ‘Birkin – like the bag?’ I say, ‘Yes, indeed: and the bag will now sing’.”

The fashion house was still giving Birkin a token £30,000 a year in royalties until her death in 2023, which she donated to charitable causes.

Birkin sketched her dream bag on an airsickness bag in 1984 — a practical idea that became the world’s most coveted accessory - Michel Dufour/WireImage

Since its invention, the Birkin has become synonymous with extreme wealth and luxury, thanks to its eye-watering price tags. While the first Birkin sold for $2,000, today prices have soared, with the cheapest brand-new model now costing $11,400. Its prestige is further fuelled by scarcity: there’s no longer a waiting list, so prospective buyers must instead build a relationship with the brand. The difficulty of acquiring one only adds to its allure. As of 2001, it was reported that just 200,000 Birkins were in circulation.

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The vintage and resale market for Birkins is understandably enormous, with rarer models often becoming the most expensive bags ever sold at auction. For instance, the Diamond Himalaya Birkin 30 previously held the record, fetching $450,000 at Sotheby’s in 2021.

Birkins are widely regarded as one of the smartest investments you can make, thanks to their exponential increase in value and consistently high demand. A 2016 study found that Birkin bags had an average annual increase of 14.2 per cent between 1980 and 2015, outpacing the S&P 500 (8-10 per cent) and gold (1.9 per cent). It’s perhaps one of the few things in the world that can be worth more than what you paid for it almost immediately.

Victoria Beckham is thought to own over 100 Birkins — the ultimate investment in luxury, scarcity and timeless style - Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

“Hermès bags are in a league of their own,” explains Toni. “The craftsmanship is impeccable, but it is their scarcity that drives their myth. You cannot simply walk into a store and buy one. That tension between desire and access is what elevates them from luxury items to investment pieces. The Black Togo Birkin 30 with gold hardware, for example, is a perennial icon in the resale world. It holds its value year after year and remains one of the most sought-after pieces for collectors and first-time buyers alike. From an investment perspective, Le Birkin is in a category of its own. The combination of provenance, rarity and cultural significance makes it an unmatched asset. In a market where values are driven by scarcity, story and sentiment, this piece has all three in extraordinary measure.”

Owning a Birkin is widely regarded as a status symbol among the wealthiest women in the world – as the salesman famously quipped to Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, “It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin.”

Kim Kardashian is known for her particularly vast collection of more than 30 bags, including some deliberately customised – a move that has sparked controversy in the past. One that drew particular criticism was a bag gifted to Kardashian by her ex-husband Kanye West for her 34th birthday, featuring etchings by their then 16-month-old daughter, North West. Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham is thought to own more than 100.

Kim Kardashian owns over 30 Birkins — including one etched by daughter North - Pierre Suu/GC Images

Unsurprisingly, there’s also a thriving counterfeit market. In 2020, a sting operation exposed a group that included seven former Hermès employees, who had made $2 million selling fake Birkins. In 2024, there was a brief moment when the “Wirkin” – Walmart’s dupe of the iconic bag – became the must-have accessory, going viral on TikTok. However, as of 2025, it has been removed from Walmart’s website.

In many ways, everything the Birkin has come to represent – exclusivity, wealth and privilege – is at odds with the original spirit of the bag, not to mention the woman who first inspired it. Birkin herself felt uneasy about her association with it, asking Hermès to remove her name in 2015 because of the use of crocodile skins, which led the brand to change its practices. By 2017, at age 70, she told the BBC that she no longer carried the bag at all, preferring instead to “fill my pockets like a man”.

One lasting mark she left on her namesake bag was her habit of accessorising it – adding political slogan stickers, badges, ribbons, keyrings and even a timepiece. This practice, now dubbed “Birkinifying”, has seen a resurgence in recent years, with A-listers such as Dua Lipa zhuzhing up their Birkins. But it’s just as popular among those who simply want to personalise a bag that doesn’t cost thousands.

Dua Lipa adds her own twist to the classic Birkin — proof that ‘Birkinifying’ is as chic as it is timeless - Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

“There are rare moments in the world of fashion when an object transcends trends and becomes a legend. Jane Birkin’s original Birkin bag is such a moment,” says Halimi.

“A true unicorn in the world of fashion and accessories, this iconic handbag stands shoulder to shoulder with other exceptional items with similarly dazzling provenance – such as Princess Diana’s symbolic black sheep sweater and Freddie Mercury’s crown and cloak, both of which set outstanding benchmarks for items of their kind. Like them, the original Birkin holds the potential to redefine records.”