The most costly handbag ever sold at auction, the original Birkin bag, which served as the model for what is perhaps the most sought-after item in fashion history, was purchased for €8.6 million (£7.4 million; $10.1 million).
After singer Jane Birkin spilt her stuff while sitting next to the head of the upscale fashion brand Hermès on a plane in 1985, the black leather bag was created for her. He drew up the idea for a new, more useful but still very appealing item for the airplane’s sick bag when she questioned why they didn’t produce larger bags.
At Sotheby’s in Paris, the prototype he created sold to a private Japanese collector on Thursday, significantly exceeding the previous record selling of €439,000 (£378,000; $513,000).
According to the auction house, “nine determined collectors” engaged in a “electrifying” 10-minute bidding war. The price was described as 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, to own its origin” by Morgane Halimi, global head of handbags and fashion at Sotheby’s.
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