Birkin Breaks the Bank at Sotheby’s
A scuffed Birkin bag topped $10 million as fashion royalty ruled Sotheby’s Paris sale.
by 8 in. d by 10 1/2 in. h, $10 million.
A 40-year-old scuffed-up purse became the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction after achieving an eye-popping €8.6 million ($10 million) at Sotheby’s on July 10.
Not bad for a legendary piece that got its humble start as a sketch on an airsickness bag.
The historic original Hermès Birkin bag from 1985, created for British actor and singer Jane Birkin, got the record-breaking result during Sotheby’s Fashion Icons sale in Paris. The auction also featured pieces from the 1950s to 2010s by renowned designers, including Azzedine Alaïa, Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Alexander McQueen.
After a 10-minute bidding war between nine people, a private collector from Japan won the Birkin, which demolishes the previous record of $513,040 for a diamond and crocodile Hermès Kelly bag.
The origin story of the purse that inspired the world’s most prestigious line of handbags goes back to Birkin, known for her unique Parisian style. She was sitting next to Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight. When he noticed she was carrying a basket, he offered to make her a better purse and sketched a prospective tote on an airsickness bag. After the chic leather bag was crafted a few months later, Birkin carried it with her for years.
Birkins are the most prized handbags for collectors, who have paid hundreds of thousands for other examples.
The auction also offered pieces by some of the legendary fashion houses and visionary designers who have shaped contemporary fashion.
Leading the haute couture was French fashion designer Christian Dior’s three-piece “Virevolte” day ensemble in gray wool, comprising a bodice, midi skirt, and short jacket, that sold for €6,350 ($7,427). Designed as part of his autumn and winter line in 1955, the ensemble emphasizes a nipped waist with a voluminous skirt, the primary characteristic of Dior’s designs, starting with his “New Look” in 1947; the cropped jacket is also one of his hallmarks. Dior’s iconic New Look silhouette is still relevant today: Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore a modernized version of the fashion house’s signature suit during the official French state visit in July.
Additional Dior pieces included a gown in dusty pink chiffon and silk by John Galliano from 2005, featuring straps adorned with rhinestone plexiglass dice and labeled “Christian Dior Boutique Paris” that brought €2794 ($3,268); a Marc Bohan leopard-print coat, circa 1960-early 1970s, labeled “Diorling Christian Dior New York” that fetched €2,540 ($2,971); a black woven wool jacket by Bohan embroidered with seahorses, 1989, that sold for €2,032 ($2,377); and a Bohan sunflower yellow linen dress, circa 1983, labeled “Christian Dior Boutique,” that sold for €508 ($594).
black velvet collar and double logo button fastening, $1,335.
Other top-sellers were pieces from the final years of celebrated British designer Alexander McQueen, led by a silk chiffon gown with kaleidoscopic butterfly print, 2010, that brought €4,826 ($5,646); a Gucci black silk gown with halter neckline by Frida Giannini, 2013, that also sold for €4,826 ($5,648); and two pieces that each sold for €3,810 ($4,460): an Azzedine Alaïa leopard-print zipped corset top and dust coat, 1991-92, and a 1930s-inspired white satin gown by John Galliano, 2005.
For more results, visit sothebys.com.
Images courtesy of Sotheby’s.
