The enduring appeal of the Birkin bag

 “The Hermès Birkin bag is not just a bag, it’s a symbol of having ‘made it’, and the story of all the celebrities and style icons who have carried it in the past,” says Jesper Richardy, founder of Copenhagen emporium Time’s Up Vintage, whose starry clientele includes Jane Birkin herself. Sophie Hersan, co-founder and fashion director of fashion consignment platform Vestiaire Collective, which has seen a 185 per cent increase in interest in Birkin 25 bags this year, agrees. “It’s like the ultimate symbol of social ascension.” She credits the Birkin’s growing high-profile fan club, which includes the Kardashian-Jenners, Victoria Beckham, J Lo and Lady Gaga, with helping to ensure it remains one of the most desired bags in the world. But how did the functional, supple leather tote bag achieve its hyper-luxury status?

Kate Moss carrying a teal blue Birkin

The fabled story of the Hermès Birkin goes like this: On a Paris to London flight in 1984, Jane Birkin’s Hermès diary fell out of her bag and its papers scattered. Her neighbour kindly helped scoop up Birkin’s belongings and introduced himself as Jean-Louis Dumas, the chairman of Hermès. Together they plotted out a covetable and capacious bag that would comfortably house the model’s personals. The Hermès Birkin was born.

Jane Birkin carrying her namesake bag

Impossibly elegant yet sturdy, each Birkin is created by one Hermès craftsperson, who must undergo two years of training in order to attain the level of expertise required to perfect a handbag by Hermès. (Six years of training is required to master the many different models in the Birkin family). Over 12 to 18 hours in the heritage brand’s French workshop, the maker must complete the leather and metal work, before sewing the pieces together using Hermès’s specific saddle-stitching technique, which involves two needles moving concurrently. The inside pocket, zippers and shoulder strap are completed with a sewing machine, and the finish is done by hand using manual bar tacks. The Birkin might have been conceived via a chance encounter, but its execution is one of true, unparalleled craftsmanship – thus making it exclusive.

“It is difficult to get your hands on one directly from Hermès – and it has a price tag [that’s] not for everyone,” Richardy says diplomatically (you’re looking at £7,000 and up). Rewind Vintage Affairs founder and CEO, Claudia Ricco, notes that “skipping the queue also comes with a price, so there is always a premium [to pay].”

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