Kim Kardashian’s Birkin Bag Purchase: Did She Really Spend $10 Million?
Kim Kardashian is recognized for her lavish style, but even her closest friends are speculating whether she just splurged on a legendary handbag.
On Saturday, July 11, Kardashian uploaded a video showcasing a model shattering a glass case that held the original Birkin bag, inspired by the late actress Jane Birkin, who passed away in July 2023. Following the video, Kardashian shared a series of texts from different friends, all eager to know if she had acquired the bag, which fetched €8.6 million ($10.1 million) during an auction on Friday, July 10.
“Did you win the first Birkin bag?” one message read.
“Please say you bought that Birkin,” another friend texted. “That would be BAD ASS.”
“Kim, did you really get the original Birkin??? Or should I stop blaming you every time I miss out on an auction?” another message inquired.
It turns out that despite Kardashian’s playful hints and her friends’ curiosity, the bag ultimately went to Valuence Japan, Inc. in Minato-ku, Tokyo, whose bid was placed by Maiko Ichikawa, Country Head of Sotheby’s Japan.
The Associated Press reported that the auction kicked off at $1 million, and bids were made both in person and over the phone. The final four bids amounted to €6.2 million, $6.5 million, and $6.8 million.
In 2012, Birkin — who famously often opted for wicker baskets instead of traditional handbags — recounted to Vogue how the renowned bag was conceived. She sat next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the chairman of Hermès from 1978 to 2006, during a flight where they began discussing the bag she brought along.
“I had been upgraded on an Air France flight to London, and found myself next to a man [the visionary Jean-Louis Dumas of Hermès],” she shared with writer Luke Leitch. “I can’t recall what bag I had — my husband Jacques Doillon had deliberately run over my basket beforehand. [Dumas] believed I deserved better.”
She continued, “Little did he know that during this flight, as my possessions spilled out of whatever bag I had, he suggested, ‘you should have one with pockets.’ I replied, ‘the day Hermès designs one with pockets, I’ll have it.’”
Birkin later mentioned that the designer responded, “I am Hermès, and I will create pockets for you.”
“I proposed, ‘why not make a handbag larger than the Kelly but smaller than [my long-term partner] Serge’s [Gainsbourg] suitcase?’ He asked, ‘what would that look like?’ I believe I sketched it on a sick bag or the not-be-sick bag. He responded, ‘I’ll make it for you,’” she added.
Kardashian has stirred excitement among fans regarding her Hermès Birkin bag during a recent Los Angeles Lakers game. While seated courtside at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday, March 16, with her son Saint West, the 43-year-old Kardashian placed her chocolate-colored crocodile-embossed handbag on the floor. The highly-coveted purse, […]
Birkin ended up visiting Hermès to purchase the bag design, but Dumas proposed giving it to her if she allowed him to name it after her. “I was genuinely flattered! They’ve turned it into the iconic success it is known for today,” she remarked.
