Jane Birkin’s original Hermès handbag was sold for more than £6m (€7m) at Sotheby’s auction on Thursday (10 July).
Footage from the “Fashion Icons” sale in Paris during Haute Couture Week shows an intense round of bidding, with the final offer resulting in huge gasp and then thunderous applause inside the auction house.
The bag, which is now one of the most coveted items in recent years, was first envisaged in the 1980s when Birkin asked then head of Hermès, Jean-Louis Damas, why he had not made a larger bag that could be suitable for mothers to use.
After designing a bag in 1984 which had dedicated space for baby bottles, the fashion company asked if they could name the item after Birkin, which she accepted.