Did you know?10 Facts about the Birkin Bag
1. In 1981, Jane Birkin was seated next to Hermès Chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London. She had just placed her straw bag in the cabin luggage compartment when the content fell to the floor, leading to a conversation between the two on what would be the perfect bag.
2. Thanks to this fortuitous encounter, a bag was created a year later.
3. Hermès offered the now iconic black leather bag to Jane Birkin in 1984.
4. The "Kelly" and the "Birkin" are the only Hermès bags to carry a celebrity moniker.
5. Its elegant-yet-sporty look, plus the fact that it was associated to the British model and singer, opened Hermès up to new markets and changed their typical clientele.
6. The Birkin wasn’t an immediate hit. It only took off in the late ’90s, at the beginning of the It-bag era.
7. Victoria Beckham is said to own at least 100 Hermès and Jane Birkin only four. She’s donated the last two to charity auctions
8. The bags are handmade in France by expert artisans
9. An average bag is created in 48 hours
10. The most expensive bag ever to go under the hammer was a red Porosus crocodile Birkin with 18-carat white gold and diamond hardware, sold for $203,150 at auction in Dallas in 2011…
