The original Hermès Birkin bag, actually used by the late British singer and actress Jane Birkin, was sold for around 13 billion won at an auction on the 10th (local time).
According to AFP, the black Birkin bag that Birkin owned was sold at Sotheby's auction held in Paris that day for €8,582,500 (about 13.7 billion won), including fees. This sets a record for the highest price ever for a handbag auction.
The previous record was held by the Hermès Kelly bag 'Himalaya,' which was sold for 4 million Hong Kong dollars (about 690 million won) at a Christie's auction in 2021.
Jane Birkin was born in London, England, and at the age of 22, she moved to France, where she became a star singer and actress during the 1960s to 1980s. She passed away in France in July 2023.
The Birkin bag that went up for auction was specially made in collaboration with Birkin by Jean-Louis Dumas, who was the CEO of Hermès in 1985.
At that time, Birkin happened to meet Dumas on a plane and reportedly complained that 'Hermès lacks a large handbag needed for everyday life,' sketching a bag design on a vomit bag.
Dumas then created a bag specifically for Jane Birkin and gifted it to her. This bag became popular and is known as the 'Birkin bag.'
Birkin sold the gifted bag in 1994 to raise funds for an AIDS charity. This bag was auctioned again in 2000 and had since been owned by a collector using the Instagram ID 'Catherine B.' Sotheby's confirmed that this collector had put the bag up for sale.