Sotheby’s to auction off Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag

Auction house Sotheby’s is putting Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag up for sale as part of its first ‘Fashion Icons’ lot.

The bag, typically known to be “The Original Birkin”, is a black leather prototype featuring design elements “that set it apart from every Birkin that followed”, Sotheby’s said, including a stamp with the initials J.B. on the front flap.

The bag was designed in 1985 by Hermès’ then-creative director Jean-Louis Dumas, who had met Jane Birkin in a chance encounter, created the piece to cater to her needs and ultimately named the final design after the British-French actress.

The historic accessory will go under the hammer in an auction taking place July 10, alongside other pieces that helped to define fashion trends from the 1950s through to the 2010s.

Alongside the Birkin, the first edition of the Fashion Icons Sale will also include a selection of pieces from the late 1980s to early 1990s by Azzedine Alaïa; dresses from ‘The Girl Who Lives in a Tree’ and ‘Plato Atlantis’ collections of the late Alexander McQueen; and other pieces by designers considered “trailblazers” over the last 70 years, including Pierre Balmain, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and Thierry Mugler.

The auction will be held at Sotheby’s Paris galleries, where all the items will be publicly displayed from July 3 to July 9.