• The original Hermès Birkin bag sold for $10.1 million at a Paris auction.
• This sale set a record for the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.
• The bag features unique design elements making it a one-of-a-kind item.
• Jane Birkin, the bag's namesake, was intimately involved in its initial creation.
• Birkin's original bag has become a fashion and cultural icon over the decades.

The original Hermès Birkin bag, created for actor and singer Jane Birkin, achieved a staggering price of $10.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on July 10, 2025. This price marks it as the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction, surpassing the previous record of approximately $513,000 established by a Hermès Kelly 28 in 2021, according to Le Monde and Reuters.

During a "heated bidding" session, the original bag commanded attention as bids surged from an opening of €1 million to the final selling price of €8.6 million (approximately $10 million) in under ten minutes. The winning bidder was reportedly a private collector from Japan, noted BBC and CBS News.

The Birkin bag was birthed from a casual conversation between Birkin and Hermès president Jean-Louis Dumas on a 1984 flight. Birkin famously sketched her vision for a larger handbag on an airplane vomit bag, addressing her needs as a mother. Dumas quickly designed a prototype, which led to the creation of the iconic Birkin line, according to India Times and South China Morning Post.

Design elements of the original Birkin set it apart from later versions; it features gilded brass hardware, a non-removable shoulder strap, and unique personal touches from Birkin herself, such as her initials and even a nail clipper attached to the strap. The bag reflects years of use by the fashion icon, which Sotheby’s highlighted as part of its allure, as noted by HuffPost and Bangkok Post.

Originally auctioned off in 1994 for charity, the original bag has been through various ownerships, and each sale has only raised its profile within luxury fashion. Its recent auction at Sotheby's further cements its status not just as a fashion accessory, but as a true cultural and economic phenomenon, according to CBS News and BBC.