What Exactly Makes Birkin Bags So Special?
It is generally agreed upon in the fashion realm that Hermès Birkin bags are the most expensive handbags on the market, ranging anywhere from $9K to $500K just for one singular bag. Named after Jane Birkin, the first user of the bag and its original trendsetter, the Birkin bags popularity has only continued to soar. In 2017 a study revealed that the value of these bags had increased 500% in the last 35 years, and it’s getting higher and higher per year. With this in mind, you would assume that these bags aren’t just special but extraordinary, and considering that they’re a favourite amongst celebrities they must be pretty incredible. To find out why the Birkin bag is so exclusive and beloved we must start at the very beginning, its conception.
While on a flight from Paris to London in 1984, actress Jane Birkin found herself sat next to Hermès chief executive at the time, Jean-Louis Dumas. Jane was famous for using wicker baskets as handbags, and this flight was no exception. While attempting to place one of her well-known baskets into the overhead compartment the lid came off and her items spilt all over the place. After complaining to Dumas that she was unable to find a weekend bag that suited her, the pair spent the remainder of the flight sketching up possible handbag designs, and one year later Dumas presented Birkin with the Birkin bag. Sophisticated and classy with a spacious design, the leather bags pockets made it highly functional, and of course, it included a zip to prevent items spilling out. While the bag gained some popularity after being seen on the arm of Jane Birkin, it wasn’t until the 90s that it became an it-bag.
These notorious bags are the epitome of luxury, handmade in France out of all variety of materials from calfskin to alligator skin, to own a Birkin is a symbol of your wealth and status. Owning just one Birkin is impressive enough, but for some people that isn’t nearly adequate. Victoria Beckham reportedly owned 100 Birkins at one point and Singaporean socialite Jamie Chua is considered to have the worlds largest collection with over 200 bags.
A staff member poses holding a rare Hermès handbag, the matt white Birkin Himalaya 35, during an auction preview at Christie’s in Paris, France, in March 2016. Photo: Reuters
Some of the most coveted Birkin bags come from the Hermès Himalaya Collection, which has bags in three sizes. These bags are often called the holy grail of handbags featuring 18-karat white gold hardware and more than 200 diamonds.
The majority of people will never be able to afford a Birkin, but even if you have the funds you will have to work your backside off to get one. You cannot simply walk into a Hermès store and buy one, you need to be offered one instead. Hermès, like many other designer brands, utilises sales associate relationships with clients, and use these to determine whether someone is worthy of even looking at a Birkin. There is no known recipe to get you a bag, however, the more you buy from Hermès and spend time in the store the more likely your sales associate will offer you a bag. If you do have the rare opportunity to be offered a bag, you will be shown a handful of bags in differing sizes and colours, and that’s what you choose from. To make it even harder, there is a limit placed on how many Birkin’s a single client can purchase per year. This is, perhaps, one of the cleverest marketing strategies utilised in high fashion. These bags are exclusive, but because of their rarity, they are also elusive, piquing people’s interest in the product and thus making their popularity rise consistently year on year.
The Birkin bag is considered a worthy investment, that is if you can afford to buy one in the first place, as it retains its value and generally exceeds it with time. Due to the popularity and rarity of these infamous bags, the reselling market is chock-a-block of ‘Birkins’, and while many are fake, some can be real and sell for extortionate prices. Just be careful that you don’t fall for a fake though. Back in 2012, Hermès sued several websites for selling fake products and won $100million in damages. In that same year, the French police cracked down on counterfeit sellers which reportedly included Hermès employees.
Is the Birkin bag really all that special? Probably not, it’s just a leather handbag that sometimes features very expensive hardware. Many have said that going through the arduous process to secure one is not worth it in the end. Regardless, Hermès has been ingenious in manufacturing the exclusivity of these bags which has trickled down to all their other products.
