Hermès’ Birkin Bags Get Taken Apart To Become $76,000 ‘Birkinstocks’

By Mikelle Leow, 09 Feb 2021

Image via Birkinstock / MSCHF

The upcycling culture is very much embraced today, and makes for some worthwhile activities in the stay-at-home era. With that being said, rarely does a crafting project start from a US$40,000 object.

The folks at internet stunt group MSCHF are rethinking the whole concept of repurposing by deconstructing some really expensive products—Hermès Birkin bags—and turning them into even more expensive status symbols: ‘Birkinstock’ sandals.

You may recall MSCHF’s viral Jesus-inspired Nikes. The group has since rolled out a number of other wacky projects, like a WikiHow-style online learning platform that rips off MasterClass’ lessons and a recipe website depicting dead Disney characters as ingredients.

‘Birkinstocks’, as their name suggests, are Birkenstock-like silhouettes who were distinguished Birkin bags in their previous lives.

To make them, MSCHF cuts up genuine Birkins, which start from about US$40,000, resizes and reshapes the leather scraps, and then stitches them into Birkenstock cork footbeds and rubber soles by hand.

Each design is stamped with satirical ‘Birkinstock’ branding and packaged in a luxurious orange box.

The footwear, priced between US$34,000 and US$76,000, is entirely customizable too. So far, the brand has worked with US$35,000 and US$48,000 Porosus Birkin 35 bags, a US$24,000 Ostrich Birkin 35, and a US$19,500 Clemence Birkin 35.

MSCHF’s cofounder Daniel Greenberg told New York Post that ‘Birkinstocks’ were inspired by his “crunchy cousin Jimbo,” who once “stepped on my rich aunt’s Birkin bag in his dirty Birkenstocks.”

The company said the built-to-order footwear has drawn in “multiple billionaire art collectors.”