Born from an accident during flight, the Hermès Birkin became more than a handbag: it redefined luxury, exclusivity and desire. Author Marisa Meltzer explains the birth of the Birkin in her new book “It Girl.”
The Hermès Birkin may now be the ultimate symbol of status and exclusivity, but it started by chance: the result of a spilled wallet and a chance encounter during a short flight.
“The Birkin of the Birkin is an encounter in a romantic comedy. It’s a cute story,” begins Marisa Meltzer, author of the new book “It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin.”
Meltzer’s book, released on October 7, delves into the creation of the Birkin and the life of its namesake, Jane Birkin, the British-born actress and singer who became a French icon.
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Actress Jane Birkin is the muse who inspired the world’s most sought-after handbag. (Jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“So everything falls out while she’s trying to stuff it in the overhead bin.”
“Her seatmate on the flight says something like, ‘You know, you should consider getting a bag with at least pockets or a zipper or something,'” Meltzer explained.
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Jane Birkin wore wicker baskets as purses for years before Hermès made the Birkin handbag for her. (Bertrand Laforet/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Birkin reportedly joked, “If Hermès makes a bag with pockets and a zipper, I’ll use it.” The man replied, “But I am Hermès.”
Meltzer explained that the man sitting next to Birkin was Jean-Louis Dumas of the Hermès family, the head of the brand at the time.
“So they pulled out the only paper they could find, which was an airsickness bag, and she started drawing what her ideal bag would look like. It was the mid-’80s at the time and she had a baby, so her design was kind of like a glorified diaper bag,” Meltzer said.
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Jane Birkin had three daughters. (James Andanson/Sygma/Getty Images/Getty Images)
And voilà, the Birkin was born.
The bag, made in 1984 and bearing Birkin’s initials, would become much more than a fashion accessory. Since then, the Birkin has joined the ranks of gold, art and real estate as a place to park wealth.
“There’s something mystical about Hermès,” Meltzer said, noting that the process of purchasing one of the brand’s most coveted handbags is “intentionally confusing and mysterious.”
“There are no easy shortcuts,” she added. “People can try to buy a bag online that looks like a Birkin, or choose another designer’s version that looks suspiciously similar, but there is no real substitute for the real thing.”
The original Hermès Birkin bag made for actress Jane Birkin. (Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Earlier this year, the original Birkin fetched more than $10 million at auction – a record sale that made it the most valuable fashion piece ever. Europesaid Sotheby’s.
“She had a wild and wonderful career and is definitely worth knowing about,” Meltzer said of Jane Birkin, the muse who inspired the world’s most sought-after handbag.
