Would Jane Birkin Be Happy About The Blasphemous Auction Of Her Birkin Bag?

Yesterday, something wild happened in the world of fashion (I’m sure you all would’ve read it or seen it by now). The original Birkin bag—the very first one ever made for Jane Birkin herself—was auctioned off at Sotheby’s for a jaw-dropping $10 million. Yes, $10 million for one (very used, very loved) handbag. It now holds the record for the most expensive fashion item sold, ever!. But amid all the headlines, one question lingers in my mind: Would Jane Birkin, the woman behind the bag, be happy about any of this?

To rewind a little—this iconic bag was born out of a chance meeting. In the early 1980s, Jane Birkin found herself seated next to then-Hermès executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London. As legend goes, her straw basket spilled, her belongings tumbled out, and she joked about how no bag ever seemed to work for her—a little too small, not practical enough. Dumas sketched one right then and there on an airplane sick bag—and so, the Birkin was born.

But Jane never treated her namesake bag like a museum piece or a luxury artifact. Quite the opposite. Her Birkins were scuffed, scribbled on, stuffed to the brim, and unapologetically hers. She used it like any regular bag—not daintily carried like a baby lamb in the crook of her arm, but lugged around with books, receipts, lip balm, and letters (and nail clippers – that always hung on the inside of her bag). She adorned it with keychains, beads,  UNICEF stickers, charity badges, political pins, and souvenirs. If anything, she made her bag more hers with every sticker and every scuff mark.

In that sense, Jane was the anti-status symbol. She stripped luxury of its snobbery and infused it with soul. For her, the Birkin was not about price tags or prestige—it was about purpose and personality. Which is precisely why this glossy, record-breaking auction feels like the exact opposite of what Jane would have wanted. 

Jane was vocal about causes that mattered to her—be it humanitarian work with Amnesty International, support for AIDS awareness, or vocal activism for Palestinian rights. Her Birkin bore witness to all of that. She used her platform for causes bigger than herself. So to see one of her most personal items turned into a hyper-luxury collector’s piece, sold to the highest bidder, feels a bit off. The Birkin today is often seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity. It’s stored in temperature-controlled closets and paraded like a trophy.  Her bag wasn’t just a bag; it was a living, breathing archive of her values.

Would she have wanted it sold for millions to an unknown bidder? Unlikely. If anything, Jane might’ve preferred that her Birkin live out its days in a museum, stickers intact, charms dangling—an artefact of a life lived meaningfully. Or better yet, passed down through her family, worn and used, like a true heirloom. Not locked away behind glass or worse, stored as an investment piece in a vault.

Yes, the bag is iconic. Yes, it inspired a fashion legacy. It is the first one, the original one of the highest selling and most expensive luxury bags of all time. Yes, it’s ‘collectible.’ But that was never the point. Jane Birkin’s legacy wasn’t luxury—it was authenticity. It was about taking something exclusive and making it inclusive, making it hers. That bag wasn’t supposed to be untouchable; it was meant to be lived with. Loved. Worn out. Scribbled on.

So would Jane Birkin be thrilled that her bag now holds the record for the most expensive fashion item ever sold? Let’s just say: she’d rather you carry your bag, not worship it.

Also Read

Spilled Secrets: The Surprising Finds In Team ELLE’s Bags