Jane Birkin's original Hermes bag has been sold for a staggering $10.1 million

An unidentified Japanese bidder won the auction after a competitive "battle" between nine collectors, who participated in person, online and over the phone, with the sale opening at $1.7 million.

The sale broke multiple records and is now the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction, taking over from a Hermès' White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28, which sold at $513,040 in 2021.

Jane's Birkin bag has also now become the second most valuable fashion item ever sold, with Judy Garland's ruby slippers from 1939's The Wizard of Oz retaining the top spot it clinched in December 2024 when they sold for $32.5 million.

Sotheby's global head of handbags and fashion Morgane Halimi said in a statement: "The spectacular sale of the Original Hermès Birkin today at Sotheby's Paris marks an important milestone in the history of fashion and the luxury industry more widely. It is a startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance, to own its origin."

Hermes' Birkin bag dates back to 1981 when the fashion house's artistic director, Jean-Louis Dumas, saw the actress needed a fashionable but large bag when her belongings fell out of her wicker basket on board a flight. In 1985, Jane was asked if they could name the accessory in her honour.

Her original bag features a non-removable shoulder strap, closed metal rings, smaller studs, a build measuring somewhere between a Birkin 35 and Birkin 40, and gilded brass hardware. It also included a chain with a nail clipper at the end and had Jane's initials engraved on the front flap.

In 1994, Jane - who died in 2023 aged 76 - donated her original prototype to an auction in aid of French AIDS charity Association Solidarité Sida.

Sotheby's noted: "The bag was sold again at auction at Poulain Le Fur in May 2000 and has remained in private hands ever since."

Throughout her life, Jane received four additional Hermes bags, but always remained loyal to her original.