A creation born of chance
The Birkin bag comes from the meeting on a Paris-London flight in 1981, between Jane Birkin and Jean Louis Dumas, president of Hermès. Jane Birkin confides her problem as a young mother: she can not find a handbag that is both practical and elegant, to store all his things and that of his daughter Charlotte. Amused, the president challenges her to draw the ideal bag that he will create later. She begins to draw on the plane and after several meetings between the two collaborators, the bag is born and will bear the name of his muse. Without knowing it, the singer and actress has just created an iconic bag, whose success has not failed since then.
© Abaca Jane Birkin and her Hermès Birkin bag in 2004
A bag become mythical
Hermes Birkin bag is the first it bag bearing the name of a celebrity and is truly created by this same personality. Each piece is hand-crafted in a unique way by the same craftsman who signs it . Elegant and practical, it is identified by its flared shape, its two pieces of leather stitched together, its flap and two rigid handles. It is available in a dozen colors and a variety of materials, from smooth leather to suede, including crocodile, velvet, ostrich ... Its shape is reinvented by many creators who are inspired by it.
The dazzling success of the legendary bag propelled him to the rank of Hermès icon, as well as the silk square or the Kelly bag. Of a rare quality, it is very sought after and almost inaccessible. This object of desire is the happiness of famous fashionistas with Victoria Beckham as best ambassador. It is found on the wrists of other initiates such as Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian, Sienna Miller ...
© Abaca
The Birkin in figures
1981 is the year of the meeting between Jane Birkin and Hermès President Jean Louis Dumas on a plane.
1984 is the year of creation of Birkin.
2 is the number of custom-made Birkin handbags owned by Kim Kardashian.
$ 1.9 million is the price of the most expensive Birkin bag ever sold: the "Crocodile Gold Birkin Bag".
110,000 euros is the price paid by the buyer for the original bag of Jane Birkin, posted on Ebay by Jane Bikin herself in 2011. The profits were donated to the Red Cross, in support of Japan.
5 is the number of sizes offered by the range of Birkin bags: 25 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm, 45 cm .
100 is the number of Birkin bags in Victoria Beckham's collection (before she became a fashion designer herself).
1 is the number of Hermes spa in Paris that offers spa treatment for excessively worn bags.
48 hours are needed for a craftsman to design a Birkin bag.
6 is the standard number of years on a waiting list for a Birkin bag.
2010 is the year in which Lady Gaga customized or rather ... degraded her Birkin bag with a marker and then with nails. 
© Abaca
Source : marieclaire.co.uk
