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Agence France-Presse

The first Birkin bag, designed by French luxury brand Hermès for actress Jane Birkin, is set to be sold at auction in Paris and likely to spark a bidding frenzy.
The Birkin has become a modern design icon that is so exclusive that Hermès only offers it to loyal clients, with prices starting at around US$10,000.
Auction house Sotheby’s, which is handling the sale of the Birkin prototype in Paris on July 10, declined to specify a reserve price publicly, and its value is hard to forecast.
“The original Birkin holds the potential to redefine records,” Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global handbag and fashion head, said in a statement.

The previous record sale price for a handbag at auction was set by a highly customised Birkin in Hong Kong in 2017.
The diamond-encrusted crocodile-skin Birkin 30 with white gold details fetched US$377,000 at Christie’s.
The seller of the original Birkin is well-known Paris-based handbag collector and dealer Catherine Benier, whose appointment-only boutique in the high-end 6th district of the capital has a cult following.
Benier told The New York Times that the bag was the “jewel in my collection”.
It has changed hands twice since being put up for sale by Birkin at an auction in 1994 where the proceeds went to an Aids charity, Sotheby’s said.

After years of so-called “quiet luxury” dominating catwalks, designers have embraced more ostentatious looks in recent seasons that have been dubbed “boom boom” by some trend forecasters.
The birth of the Birkin bag has become a modern fashion legend.
During a Paris-London flight, the singer and actress – who died in 2023 – complained to a fellow traveller about not being able to find a bag suited to her needs as a young mother.
That fellow passenger happened to be Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermès.

The result of their conversation was a spacious tote with room for baby bottles, created in 1984 and named the Birkin.
It is engraved with the initials J.B. and has several unique features, Sotheby’s said, including closed metal rings, a non-detachable shoulder strap and a built-in nail clipper.
Its condition “reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer”, Sotheby’s said.
A slightly different-size version of the original has become the flagship product of the immensely profitable family-owned luxury French leather goods maker ever since.
Produced in very limited numbers, the bag has maintained an aura of exclusivity and is beloved by celebrities from Khloe Kardashian to Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham.

Frustrated fashion lovers in America even sued Hermès in a class-action suit in California last year after they were refused access to the bags.
Birkin had a sometimes strained relationship with Hermès, once threatening to take her name off the bags because of the group’s treatment of crocodiles whose skins are used for its products.
The former wife of French singing legend Serge Gainsbourg championed a host of causes, including animal rights.
The prototype Birkin will be exhibited at Sotheby’s in New York from June 6 to 12 before being put on show in the French capital before the sale.
In addition to the Birkin bag, the Sotheby’s “Fashion Icons” sale will feature pieces from designers including Christian Dior, John Galliano, Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen.
Bidding will open online on June 26 and close on July 10.


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Fashion

First ever Hermès Birkin bag to be auctioned in Paris in July and a bidding frenzy is likely

The original Birkin bag created for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès. Photo: Sotheby’s

The original Birkin created for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Paris in July. Photo: Sotheby’s

Jane Birkin’s iconic bag was created for her after a conversation on a flight with the head of Hermès. Photo: Sotheby’s

The record price paid for a Birkin bag was for a diamond Himalaya Hermès Birkin 30, sold at auction in Hong Kong for US$377,000 in 2017. Photo: Christie’s

The original Birkin bag, designed by French luxury brand Hermès for actress Jane Birkin, is engraved with the initials J.B and has several unique features. Photo: Instagram/icyjohnson

Jane Birkin auctioned her bag for charity in 1994 and it has changed hands twice since then. Photo: Instagram/icyjohnson

Louis Vuitton plans opulent, Frank Gehry-designed Rodeo Drive flagship in Beverly Hills

Louis Vuitton plans to open a huge flagship store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, a fashion shopping destination. Photo: AFP

The flagship store will be built on the site on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California (above) on which Louis Vuitton had proposed building a Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills hotel. City planners rejected that proposal. Photo: AFP

Frank Gehry previously collaborated on a collection of handbags for Louis Vuitton, including the Twisted Box Trunk (above). Photo: Louis Vuitton

What is Harris tweed? How the classic Scottish fabric is seeing a resurgence

Harris tweed stoles are displayed at the Harris Tweed Isle of Harris shop, in Tarbert, Isle of Harris, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed weaver Alexander MacLeod works at his weaving loom in his atelier at his home, on the Isle of Scalpay. Photo: AFP

MacLeod works at his weaving loom at his home. Photo: AFP

Genuine Harris tweed receives the precious “Harris Tweed” stamp. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed is only woven from wool from Scottish blackface sheep (pictured) and Cheviot sheep. Photo: AFP

Coloured wool used for Harris tweed is seen at the Carloway Mill workshop, in Carloway, Isle of Lewis. Photo: AFP

A member of staff at the Carloway Mill processes and prepares wool for weaving into Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Kelly MacDonald is director of operations at the Harris Tweed Authority. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed stoles are displayed at the Harris Tweed Isle of Harris shop. Photo: AFP

A member of staff at the Carloway Mill processes and prepares rolls of Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Close-up of cloth on a weaving loom being woven into Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Victoria Beckham on why ‘now is the time’ for Netflix series about her journey in fashion

Beckham in New York in 2022. Photo: GC Images

Victoria Beckham at a fashion show in France in 2023. The former Spice Girl talks about growing as a fashion designer ahead of her Netflix docuseries, coming in autumn. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images

Victoria and David Beckham with their son Brooklyn on their wedding day in 1999. Photo: Netflix/Beckhams

(From left) Designer Michael Kors, Beckham and Heidi Klum at a fashion show in New York in 2008. Photo: Getty Images for IMG

Beckham in New York in 2022. She says the city has been a “huge part” of her story so far. Photo: GC Images

The Beckhams at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in West Hollywood, in 2012. Victoria says her husband may appear in her upcoming docuseries. Photo: WireImage

Francis Bacon’s 1979 piece Study for a Portrait inspired the colour palette of Beckham’s recent clothing collection. Photo: Instagram/francisbaconartist

How Gillian Chung of Cantopop duo Twins survived the Edison Chen photo scandal to keep thriving as a singer and actress

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Gillian Chung at an interview with the Post in 2010. Chung, one half of Hong Kong’s Cantopop duo Twins, is now thriving as a singer and actress but the road to success – marred by a scandal involving intimate photos – has not been an easy one. Photo: SCMP

Charlene Choi (left), then 18, and Chung, 20, at an interview with the Post in 2001. Photo: SCMP

Choi and Chung perform on stage at HarbourFest in October, 2003. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) in a still from “The Twins Effect” (2003).

Chung speaks at a press conference attended by more than 300 artists, legislators and supporters in Tseung Kwan O in 2006. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi at the Asian Film Awards presentation ceremony in Wan Chai in 2007. Photo: SCMP

Chung was interviewed in March 2009 about the photos of her and Edison Chen. Photo: TVB

Chung at an interview with the Post in 2009. Photo: SCMP

Chung (left) and Choi of Twins meet their fans in March 2010 ahead of their reunion concert, titled “Bouncing Back”, at the Hong Kong Coliseum. Photo: SCMP

Chung and Michael Lai on their wedding day, with (back row from left) bridesmaids Yumiko Cheng, Joey Yung and Choi, in 2018. Photo: Instagram/@yungchoyee

Gillian Chung in a still from the film “Prison Flowers” (2023).

Gillian Chung (left) and Charlene Choi during preparations for their 2024 concert series. Photo: Instagram/@q_gill

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty

Designed for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès, the first Birkin bag will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in July. No reserve price has been announced


Designed for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès, the first Birkin bag will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in July. No reserve price has been announced.


Auctions

Hermès

First ever Hermès Birkin bag to be auctioned in Paris in July and a bidding frenzy is likely

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Designed for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès, the first Birkin bag will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in July. No reserve price has been announced

Designed for actress Jane Birkin by Hermès, the first Birkin bag will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in July. No reserve price has been announced