The story is well known: Jane Birkin was struggling to fit her bag into the airplane’s luggage compartment when her belongings ended up scattered on the floor. It was 1984 – the date varies between versions, but this is the one supported by Hermès – and the actress was traveling from Paris to London with such luck that Jean-Louis Damas, manager of the French maison at the time, witnessed her little accident and had no choice but to be inspired by her to create one of the most famous and exclusive bags in history: the Hermès Birkin. Although the design shared little or nothing with the round wicker basket, with a short handle and lid, that the actress was seen carrying everywhere in the seventies and which definitely did not seem made for an airplane trunk, the British woman made sure to give it a similar use. Apparently, her desire was to find a bag that met her needs as a new mother, and Damas devised a spacious, flexible model that even had a compartment for baby bottles.
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And so, as if it were a changing bag or an affordable and versatile tote, Birkin herself carried it everywhere, packed to the brim. She always carried it open, leaving part of her belongings visible to the curious: jackets, scarves, books, and toiletry bags usually peeked out from a bag personalized with her initials and from which several charms and even a nail clipper always hung. Just like those Miu Miu models who carried their bowlings overflowing a couple of summers ago, Birkin treated her eponymous bags without mercy despite them being prime examples of contemporary luxury. So much so that a Birkin bag, with an average price of over 10,000 euros for the most basic models, is considered a more solid investment than gold. The original, considered “the Mona Lisa of bags,” was sold last year at an auction in Paris for seven million euros. It hardly mattered that the actress had deformed it by carrying it nonstop or that it had remnants of multiple stickers from humanitarian organizations she had placed on it. Even more, that is part of the charm of a collector’s piece that Jane ended up parting with in the mid-90s to raise funds to fight AIDS.
But she has not been the only one to treat the world’s most luxurious bag worse than a beach basket. There is, for example, Kate Moss, an expert in using the most coveted bags in her wardrobe to stain them with sand and salt. The British model was seen last year in Formentera with a Kelly, a close relative of the Birkin, used as a beach bag. The top model treasures several Hermès models in her collection and therefore does not hesitate to choose a five-figure vintage brown leather model to step on the sand.
The list continues: Kim Kardashian used a black Birkin as a beach bag during her stay in Miami in the summer of 2012 and did not hesitate to throw it on the sand like someone leaving a promotional tote bag next to the towel. A gesture shared by some influencers eager to generate likes through controversy. Jennifer Lopez, however, preferred to give it a second life as a gym bag, pairing it with leggings and sneakers. Many have taken it to stadiums and sports events, showing that those who can afford a Birkin do not reserve it for special occasions or fancy events. Victoria Beckham usually carries hers in airports, matches, and trips, and even crossed a soccer field almost two decades ago holding a Birkin in a pink so vibrant and impossible to ignore as her matching minidress.
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Precisely these days, the bag, considered a safe haven asset, is making headlines in specialized, general, and even sports media thanks to a less obvious profile. Manchester City footballer and Norway national team leader Erling Haaland owns a collection of Hermès bags worthy of analysis. The athlete treasures special models, collector’s pieces that can only be obtained at auctions and limited editions. He does not take them to the beach (as far as is known), but he does use them as sports or travel bags, demonstrating that he knows how to make good use of the estimated 60,000 euros some of his acquisitions are worth.
It is striking that those who would have the easiest time carrying a Birkin – this model has a long waiting list accessible only to the most loyal clients of the maison – are precisely those who reject it. Neither Charlotte Gainsbourg nor Lou Doillon, daughters of the actress, have ever been photographed carrying a Birkin and have even publicly disavowed it. The first confessed in an interview that she would feel like a copy of her mother carrying one. Regarding the second, Jane herself clarified the matter in an interview with Vogue: “My daughter Lou does not have a Birkin. Personally, I think it would be a horrible thing to have a Birkin from your mother.” The very muse who inspired the bag that many would consider the best possible inheritance ended up dispensing with it. In 2011, she confessed that carrying the emblematic Hermès accessory was so heavy that “you only need one and it breaks your arm” and that it even caused her tendinitis.
But even more, she rejected what it represented. The actress, deeply bohemian and an advocate for animal rights, asked Hermès a few years ago to stop using her name for the crocodile leather version of the Birkin until it could guarantee treatment in accordance with international animal welfare standards. The French house announced it would start an investigation on the matter, and no harm was done, but she never felt completely comfortable with the inaccessible status and price the bag had acquired. That is why she always treated it as if she had bought it for 20 euros at a flea market. Filled, worn, shabby, and a little faded, for her it always had the same value as that wicker basket that started it all.
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