Forty years ago, a chance meeting on a flight between Jane Birkin and then Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas sparked the creation of a roomy bag designed to fit the actress and singer's hectic lifestyle: the Original Hermès Birkin bagThe exhibition is part of Sotheby's events programme celebrating the opening of its new headquarters on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
On display until October 31st, is the first time that Jane Birkin's Original Hermès Birkin has been exhibited in France after having only been featured in two previous public exhibitions, once in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in 2018 and at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2020. In many ways a work of art in itself, the original Birkin is unique not only in its provenance but also in differing significantly from the way Birkins have been made since.
Jane's wicker basket was the inspiration for Dumas
Jane Birkin, accompanied by her young daughter Charlotte, discussed her requirements for the ideal bag with Jean-Louis Dumas on that now famous short flight from Paris to London, wanting a roomy one. At the time she had found handbags too small and instead preferred to carry a large wicker basket, which she had purchased in Portugal in the late 60s. The wicker basket and its contents had accidentally fallen onto Dumas, who was sitting next to her on the plane, so he understood Jane's needs.
The seven key characteristics that certify originality
Borrowing elements from the existing Hermès Haut A Courroies bag, the finished bag was eventually delivered to Jane Birkin in 1985. The original Birkin was really a prototype with 7 features key features that have never been replicated on any other Birkin bag made since. The current version of the Birkin, finalized a couple of decades ago, has none of these features.
- The dimension – While the first Birkin bags created by Hermès were 40 cm in size, and then 35 cm, the original Birkin is a hybrid of the two sizes. It has the width and height of a Birkin 35 with the depth of a Birkin 40.
- The metal rings (Pontet) – The metal rings of the original Birkin are closed rings (similar to the Haut A Courroies model). Later rings introduced on later models remained open at the bottom until the early 90s, before being replaced again by the open-top rings still present on the current ones.
- The hardware (metals)- This bag also shows the evolution of the brand's use of materials. The original Birkin's metals were gold-plated brass, which was replaced by gold-plated (with a check mark) when the first Birkin series was launched around 1986. Hermès would later introduce rose gold, palladium or ruthenium metals as well.
- The internal zipper – During the production of the original Birkin, Hermès still purchased its zippers from the “clair” company. In the 90s, Hermès entered into a partnership with the Riri company, which still produces all the zippers for the Birkin bags.
- The lower studs – The bag feet, or bottom studs, are smaller on the original Birkin than those that Hermès eventually used to produce Birkin bags.
- The shoulder strap – The original Birkin features a shoulder strap that was not retained in the production of the Birkin. In the 90s, only one limited edition Birkin with a detachable shoulder strap was produced. But the Original Birkin is the only one with a non-removable shoulder strap.
- The nail clipper – Known for her sexy tomboy dress sense and casual style, Jane Birkin kept a pair of nail clippers attached to a chain at the base of her shoulder strap, inside the bag, for easy access.
The Original Birkin, inseparable from Jane Birkin and branded with her initials JB on the front of the bag
They are just below the lock, became her favorite accessory. The condition of the original Birkin reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer, and, theIn the exhibition, the bag is presented in the exact state in which Jane left it. Jane was an activist deeply aware of the power her image had internationally, she also used her bag as an eye-catching sign to promote causes close to her heart, such as Doctors of the World and UNICEF – the bag still bears the marks of the stickers she stuck on it.
