News
The Hermès Birkin
Becomes a 3-in-1
By The Rebag Team, Oct 18, 2021
The Hermès Birkin Turns Into a Multitasker.
Forty years ago, English Actress Jane Birkin told Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas needed a bag big enough to hold her daughter’s bottles. The Birkin made its official debut in 1984, and has since become one of the French house’s most coveted handbag styles. This fall it sees a new, contemporary update.
It was on a fortuitous 1981 Air France flight from Paris to London that Jane Birkin sat next to Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas. As the basket she used to hold her and her daughter Lou Doillon’s belongings toppled out of the overhead compartment, Birkin told Dumas that she wish she had a bag that would hold all her things. Dumas sketched out a bag that would later be named the “Birkin” after the actress who inspired it.
That was 40 years ago. This fall, Hermès releases its newest iteration of the coveted Birkin bag, which commands anywhere from the low five figures to six figures at auction, depending on the model and material. The new 3-in-1 Birkin initially made its debut last March during Paris fashion week, and will be available this fall. What, exactly, are the three components that make the new Hermès Birkin bag a 3-in-1? It can be a tote, a pouch, or a tote and a pouch, ideal for the woman on the go who doesn’t always need to carry a giant handbag around, or someone who may need a smaller clutch for evening occasions.
The newest part of the Birkin consists of a pochette (French for pouch) with a flap that can either be attached to the bag and act as a compartment and a flap. When removed, it can be carried as a clutch or a pouch, used for smaller essentials, like a phone, mask, keys, and a wallet. The main bag becomes an open tote. When the pouch is attached to the bigger bag’s gussets, it serves as a flap that keeps the bag closed, and an additional pouch within the bag.
The price of the 3-in-1 Birkin? $14,400 — provided that you can get your hands on one.
