Hermès’ Birkin Was Conceptualized On A Barf Bag In An Airplane
By Mikelle Leow, 19 Jul 2023
Photo 262475483 © Qa9392331 | Dreamstime.com
When you think of the Hermès brand, a few symbols might spring to mind: dollar signs, the color orange, and, of course, the Birkin bag.
The luxury icon is named after British-French actress and singer Jane Mallory Birkin OBE, who died on July 16 due to causes not yet revealed to the public. In memory of her legacy, Insider has looked back on the handbag that she helped inspire—and create.
And it turns out this coveted status symbol had its beginnings on another bag, albeit one with a less prestigious nature.
Talking to Vogue’s Luke Leitch in 2012, the late Birkin said she was flying Air France in 1981, en route to London from Paris, and got an upgrade. In a stroke of fate, she ended up sitting next to Hermés’ then-chairman Jean-Louis Dumas.
In another history-making accident, Birkin’s straw bag tore apart, causing her belongings to fall to the floor.
Dumas turned to her and said she should get a bag with pockets. In response, Birkin remarked: “The day Hermès makes one with pockets I will have that.”
“I am Hermès,” Dumas proclaimed, and he promised to design a bag with functional pockets for her. The Hermès executive then grabbed an airsickness bag and sketched the now-familiar design.
When Birkin later approached the brand to purchase this unexpected brainchild, Dumas said he’d give her the purse for free on the condition that it claimed her last name. As of 2011, the actress received yearly royalties of £30,000 (US$39,000 today) from the luxury house for the use of her name, and she donated the proceeds to charity.
The value of the Birkin bag has climbed upward of US$10,000 today, a significant jump from the roughly US$2,000 price tag it had when it first debuted in 1984. The style is so wildly iconic, it’s even inspired a series of non-fungible tokens called MetaBirkins, to the brand’s chagrin.
[via Insider and Glam, cover photo 262475483 © Qa9392331 | Dreamstime.com]