French singer and actress Jane Birkin just died at her home in Paris at age 76, and is remembered for her creative accomplishments – and for inspiring one of fashion’s most covetable handbags
The Hermés Birkin appears on the arms of A-listers across the globe, can sell for millions at auction, and has years-long waiting lists – but began as a doodle on an aeroplane sick bag.
The iconic Hermès Birkin handbag, which is named after the late singer and actress Jane Birkin, is one of the most coveted luxury items in the world – but its origin story is less glamorous.
The Birkin handbag was conceived by Birkin herself, who was found dead at her home in Paris on Sunday, at age 76. The cause of her death is not yet known, though Birkin reportedly suffered from health issues after a stroke in 2021.
The story behind the Hermés Birkin handbag
The singer-actress revealed the story behind the handbag to Vogue contributor Luke Leitch in 2012.
In 1981, Birkin found herself sitting next to Jean-Louis Dumas – who was chairman of French luxury design house Hermès at the time – when she was upgraded by Air France on a flight to London, she told Leitch.
Nita Ambani flaunts her US$400,000 Hermès Neige Faubourg Birkin 20 handbagAfter spilling the contents of her handbag on the plane floor, Dumas said to her: “You should have one with pockets,” to which she replied: “The day Hermès makes one with pockets I will have that.”
Dumas reportedly responded: “But I am Hermès, and I will put pockets in for you.”
She then drew the design of a handbag she wanted on an aeroplane sickness bag. Dumas agreed to make it for her on the condition that she’d let him use her surname as the name of the bag – and the Birkin was born.
Birkin told Leitch that Hermés paid her an annual royalty of £30,000 in 2011, which currently works out as US$39,000. She then distributed this income to her chosen charities.
Years later, the Birkin handbag has taken on a life of its own and is now seen as a status symbol. Customers have to sign up for years-long waiting lists to buy the bag from one of its stores. The scarcity of these items has created a booming resale market, where Birkins sell for thousands of dollars.
It was first sold for US$2,000 in 1984, but a standard leather Birkin now costs north of US$10,000 new. Some of its pricier models, including the crocodile and diamond-encrusted Birkin bags, can cost as much as US$200,000, according to Sotheby’s. And one of its rose gold bags inlaid with over 2,000 diamonds – called the Sac Bijou Birkin – was priced at US$2 million in 2012.
In recent years, these bags have also been seen as solid investments. Data from online marketplace Baghunter in 2o18 showed that the Birkin bag had outpaced both the S&P 500 and the price of gold over the three decades prior.
