The Story Behind The Birkin Bag
- Vanessa Saenz
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
It’s been a while since I’ve written about fashion on my lachurrosstories… I figured why not bring it back before the semester ends…
We all know luxury bags by their name, however, sometimes we don’t know how those names came to be. I’m not sure if the average person thinks about this kind of stuff, but if you were to be curious, I am here to share the story of the one and only iconic bag, Hermés Birkin.
Before getting into the details of the story on the bag name, first I’ll share a little bit about Jane Birkin. She lived most of her adult life in Paris even though she was born in Marylebone, London, on December 14, 1946. She did have two siblings, Andrew and Linda Mary Birkin. Both her parents were actors, Judy Campbell and David Birkin.
She married John Barry at 18 years old; he was 30 years old at the time. Barry was a composer and conductor. Her family disapproved of the relationship because of their age gap, but they ended up together either way. Jane then auditioned for a few roles due to his connections, not thinking much of it but because of this, it led her to becoming a well-known actress and model. She ended up getting a role in the film Blow-Up (1966). Later this caused her to be famous yet misunderstood. Other films she starred in are, The Swimming Pool (1969) and Wonderwall (1968). While filming some of these roles, Jane was pregnant and gave birth to her first daughter in 1967. Her marriage with John did not work out; she felt unwanted, undesired, and unloved. She was insecure in the relationship due to his unfaithfulness, she even said herself that she would keep her eye pencil under her pillow so she could draw in her eye makeup before he woke up, hoping he wouldn’t see her with “tiny piggy eyes”. This came up due to the fact that he would cheat on her with others. In that same year when her first daughter was born, she left John. Suitcase in one hand, baby carrier in the other.
via Pinterest : @BillMather -- via: @TheIndependent.com
Later on, Jane met Serge Gainsberg in 1968, while working on the French film Slogan (1968). He was a French singer-songwriter and actor. She was 23 and he was 41. That same year she stayed in France for good. They were completely toxic, arguing in public, but still making films and music together. Growing their relationship with the ups and downs, they had one daughter born in 1971. After 12 years of somewhat being together, they broke up on what seemed like good terms and shared custody of their daughter. When he died, Jane was distraught. Even with all the bad that happened between then in the past, he meant a lot to her. In my opinion, I would say that he was the love of her life...
This might start to sound repetitive but… Jane then met someone else and also had a daughter with him… His name was Jacques Doillon, a French film director and screenwriter. Their daughter was born in 1982. However, this time, he was only 2 years older than her, so that was a big change from the rest. I wouldn’t say Jane completely stopped working because she kept writing and journaling her book Munkey Diaries (2020), but there were times where she solely focused on being a mom.
via Pinterest : @stephanie
The story behind the name takes on the phrase "right place, right time" in a literal sense. Jane would famously use a round straw, sort of like a fisherman’s basket, for her normal every day-use bag. She would even carry it around at nightclubs and other formal events. She liked using the basket because it was quick and easy to put all her things into. However, in 1983, this all changed.
At the time, the chairman, Jean-Louis Dumas was on a flight and sat next to the actress, songwriter, and model Jane Birkin. (hmmm, her last name sounds familiar right…) Dumas was 5th generation CEO of the Hermés Family Business.
The story then follows that Jane had placed her straw basket in the overhead compartment of her seat when all of her things fell out, she scrambled and hurried to pick them up. It was a stomach distress bag in which Dumas and Jane started to sketch out ideas for the bag. During this conversation, the Hermés Kelly Bag was mentioned. This bag is also very famous and iconic, taking on the name from Grace Kelly, an American actress. However, Jane requested for it to be bigger than The Kelly, yet smaller than a carry-on suitcase, plus something with pockets. A month later, Jane got a call from Dumas to come look at the bag prototype made out of cardboard at first. During this so-called meeting, they did ask her if it was okay to name the bag after her. Again, bringing up The Kelly story. Jane was flattered and said yes with pleasure.
It wasn’t until one year later, in 1984, when the first Birkin bag was released. The way they have it classified online is, “Black Box Birkin Brass Hardware”. There are a few characteristics of the bag that only came to be in Jane’s specific one, no other bag had these elements. These include:
Shoulder Strap
While Hermés came out with detachable straps later on, the original has a non-removable shoulder strap.
Size
The original was a blend of two sizes, it matched the width and height of Birkin 35, but the depth of Birkin 40.
Hardware
The original featured gilded brass hardware, that later on was replaced by gold-plated hardware stamped with a check mark.
Metal Rings
This featured closed metal rings. Today, the bags have open rings at the top.
Bottom Studs
Jane’s Original had smaller bottom studs, later on they have increased in size.
Inner Zip
The zippers were sourced from the Éclair company. Now, it’s in partnership with Riri.
Stamped Initials
I think because it was an original bag and for Jane exclusively, Hermés added a personal touch to the bag. This included her initials “J.B” stamped on the front flap.
A few other fun facts about the original bag, Jane would keep a nail clipper attached to a chain hanging from the shoulder strap. She was ready and on the go to ever fix her nails or just neatly trim them. Other things hanging from the straps were beads like charms, plus others that made more noise.
The bag also has personalized stickers. It was said that because everyone knew she was carrying this bag mostly everywhere, she decided to add activist stickers so the paparazzi would take pictures and it’ll show up online. Some of these were Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) and UNICEF.
Jane used her original bag heavily, it created scratches and even with the stickers it created residue. While nowadays Birkin bags are taken care of or even just bought for display, Jane used hers like it was meant to be, to its fullest potential.
(Not so much about the bag, but I do want to note that Jane died July 16, 2023).
via: @Britannica -- @DailySabah -- @WMagazine
After a couple of years, the original Birkin bag was auctioned in 1994 for charity then again in 2000, and once more until July 10, 2025, it was bought at a final price. It was auctioned from the house, Sotheby’s, with a record breaking of 7 million euros ($10.1 million).
Now, you might be wondering why does this even matter? Why share the story of one bag?
Well, in shorter words to answer this, not only is it an iconic bag, there’s more lore to it after it was created.
To even get a Birkin bag there’s a few steps to it. They are not available for direct online purchases, only in Hermés stores. There has been a waitlist a couple years back, a customer would need to create a strong relationship with a sales associate or someone that has direct connections to them. Now, the waitlist is almost non-existent. However, there is still the possibility of a secondary market, where collectors would buy and resell. Now why is it so expensive? It’s more than just a bag, it’s about the status and luxury it gives. Sometimes it’s better used as an investment.
The bag itself was not meant to be this “big of a deal” or exclusive, it just happened to be. Celebrities were carrying it and rappers started rapping about it too. It became a big staple in pop culture as well, even mentioned and shown in early 2000s shows.
The Birkin bag meant that you had made it.
It’s honestly fun and interesting knowing how these names for luxury bags came to be and why they are so iconic plus expensive.
I personally would love to have a bag like the Birkin… but at the same time, there’s no point. I personally love the brand Coach, so I wouldn't mind settling with a few bags from them! But would you consider buying a Birkin bag or anything remotely as expensive as them?
If you enjoyed reading this, I can possibly do more in-depth stories from other luxury brands and products, get to know the lore and why people invest their money and energy on them?!?!
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