Overview

• The prototype Birkin was created in 1984 after Jane Birkin sketched her ideal tote for Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a Paris–London flight.
• It retains seven unique design features not carried over to later models, including a non-detachable crossbody strap, sealed metal rings and a built-in nail clipper engraved with “J. B.”
• Birkin donated the bag to Association Solidarité Sida in 1994 and it entered the collection of Paris buyer Catherine Benier in 2000.
• The one-of-a-kind handbag has toured Sotheby’s Paris and Hong Kong galleries and is now exhibited in New York through June 12.
• Sotheby’s will auction the piece as the centerpiece of its Fashion Icons sale in Paris on July 10 with an undisclosed estimate but anticipated record value.