The design inspiration for the Birkin bag struck Jean-Louis Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermès (1978-2006), during a flight from Paris to London in 1984. Sat next to French actress, singer and fashion icon Jane Birkin, Jean-Louis Dumas saw her with a straw travelling bag, struggling to place it in the overhead compartment as her belongings fell out. She had complained to him that she couldn’t find a suitable bag that could contain all of her ever-growing contents as a young mother, leading Dumas to create the bag in her namesake.

The bags are crafted in France, hand-sewn by craftspeople who have completed five years of training. Each bag takes up to eighteen hours to complete, using the company’s signature stitching, which was first introduced in the 1800s, the bag is then painted and polished before finally being housed inside an iconic orange Hermes box. The use of the best quality materials, the time involved and the high level of attention to detail, is what gives it the price tag, but the rarity and timeless style makes the Birkin the ultimate status symbol across the world.

A stunning highlight amongst the Birkin’s offered is Lot 273, which is a matte amethyst alligator Birkin handbag, circa 2012, also offered are five other Birkin’s in a variety of colours and made of Hermès Clemence and Togo leathers.

The auction also offers a Hermès, Kelly, in a brown box calf leather, circa 1970 (Lot 267). The Kelly handbag was created in the 1930s and originally known as the ‘sac à dépêches’ bag. However, in 1957 Hollywood actress and Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly, used the bag to conceal her growing baby bump. Images of this outing featured on the front cover of magazines across the world, catapulting the bag into the limelight, elegant and fashionable women flocked to Hermès asking for the ‘Kelly bag’ which skyrocketed sales. Grace Kelly was so highly associated with the popularity of the bag that in 1977 Hermes renamed the design in her honour and henceforth it has been known as the ‘Kelly’ bag.

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Auction Details

Thursday 16 November | 10.30am
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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• Saturday 11 November: 10am-3pm
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