The year is 1984. Jane Birkin and Jean-Louis Dumas, then Executive Chairman of Hermès, met by chance on board a flight from Paris to London. Little did they know that together they were about to create an icon.
A musical partner to Serge Gainsbourg and muse to many, the actress and singer died on Sunday, July 16, at the age of 76. Vogue pays tribute to the icon.
The story of the Hermès Birkin bag
When Jane Birkin's belongings all fell from her bag onto the floor, Jean-Louis Dumas told her, “You should have one with pockets.” To which she replied, with that panache of hers that we know so well, “The day Hermès makes one with pockets I will have that.” It was at that moment that the man revealed his status by telling her, “But I am Hermès.” The young mother, having just given birth to Charlotte Gainsbourg, seized the opportunity and asked him why he couldn't make a bag that would be four times the size of the Kelly, but smaller than Serge Gainsbourg's iconic suitcase.
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Jane Birkin then sketched an improvised prototype on a sick bag, and thus the idea of the Birkin bag was born. This glimpse into the future was followed by a series of meetings that gave birth to a piece that fulfilled all the star's expectations. At Jean-Louis Dumas's request, she gave the bag her own name. Initially made in supple black leather, over the years the accessory has come in a variety of sizes, materials and colors. And all its variants met with the same success. At the Hermès Fall/Winter 2012-2013, Birkin told Vogue US, “Now when I go to America to sing they say Birkin? Like the bag? I say, ‘Yes indeed: and the bag will now sing.’”
It is now the most coveted object in leather goods. It's the ultimate safe investment. Not only for its reputation, but also for the expertise that goes into making it. Each piece is uniquely fashioned by hand by the same craftsman who signs his signature on it. So it takes patience to get your hands on a Birkin bag. That scene from the cult TV series Sex and the City was no joke. Remember: as Samantha admires a Birkin bag, the sale assistant at the Hermès boutique tells her that she'll have to wait on the waiting list for at least five years before she can get one, and she exclaims, “For a bag?” And the sales assistant replies, “It's not a bag, it's a Birkin”.
Where can you get a Hermès Birkin bag?
Translated by Jack Pownall.
Read more on Vogue.fr:
The steamy story behind the iconic song Je t'aime… moi non plus
Jane Birkin's style secrets
From the archive: When Jane Birkin confided in Vogue
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