 "Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's wife spotted seemingly holding a $32,000 Birkin bag in the tunnel leading. Image Courtesy: IDF")
What do Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham and the wife of slain Hamas leader, Abu Zamar, have in common? If visuals provided by the Israel Defense Forces are to be believed, then they all are proud owners of one of the world’s most luxurious items in the world — the Hermes Birkin bag.
What are we talking about? Let us explain.
As Israel continues its long war against Hamas in Gaza, the Jewish nation over the weekend released new footage showing Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and his family fleeing into a Gaza tunnel hours before the October 7 terror attacks last year.
The visuals show Abu Zamar going through the bunker, carrying what IDF spokesperson Lt Col Avichay Adraee claims to be a French luxury brand, Hermes’ Birkin 40 Black Toga handbag costing $32,000 (Rs 26,89,961).
While Israel maintained that this was evidence that Hamas enjoyed a life of luxury while Gazans endured hardships, some fashion critics questioned the authenticity of the bag, citing the long and famous procedure that one has to go through to get their hands on a Birkin.
As discussions continue online, we get you the history of the Birkin and how the bag has gained cult status today.
Named after singer-actor Jane Birkin
Today, considered one of the most elusive luxury staples, the Birkin bag with a wide, flat bottom, flap enclosure and handles has an interesting history, which began, unbelievably, on an airplane’s sick bag.
The bag is named after British singer-actor and icon, Jane Birkin. But why is it named after her?
In an old Vogue interview, she explained that it all happened in 1984. “I’d been upgraded by Air France on a flight to London, and I found myself sitting next to a man [the visionary Jean-Louis Dumas of Hermès].
“We struck up a conversation but it was then that everything fell out of whatever bag I had. He then told me, ‘You should have one with pockets’. To which I responded, ‘The day Hermès makes one with pockets I will have that.’
“He then said: ‘But I am Hermès, and I will put pockets in for you.’ I replied, ‘Why don’t you make a handbag that is bigger than the Kelly (another bag made by the French brand) but smaller than Serge’s suitcase?’ And he said, ‘Well, what would it be like?’ And I think I drew it on the sick bag – or the not-be-sick bag. And he said, ‘I’ll make it for you’.”
After Hermes built the early model in 1984, she lent her name to it and with that came the birth of the Birkin bags and the many subsequent models it spawned.
The It-bag
When released the Birkin bag didn’t become an immediate hit that it is today. It got off to a slow start, facing off competition from a Chanel-filled market.
Nevertheless, by the mid-1990s it had gained considerable momentum and by the late ‘90s, it became the It-bag of the era. Its status was sealed in 2001 when the now iconic line was uttered in the pop culture show Sex and the City said, “It’s not a bag. It’s a Birkin.”
Over the course of the decade, and into the 2000s, the bag continued to grow in popularity, eventually becoming the ultimate status symbol. As more celebrities carried it, and as it grew in price, the Birkin became more exclusive, waiting lists started and its reputation started building.
Allure of the Birkin
But what makes the Birkin a luxury staple today? Why does everybody want it and a few possess it? Is it because of the quality of the bag?
Today, a standard leather Birkin now costs upwards of $10,000 (Rs 8.4 lakh). However, the rarest styles, bedecked with jewels, are more expensive. For instance, the crocodile and diamond-encrusted Birkin bags can cost as much as $200,000 (Rs 1.68 crore) according to Sotheby’s. One of its rose gold bags inlaid with over 2,000 diamonds – called the Sac Bijou Birkin – was priced at $2 million (Rs 17 crore) in 2012.
The most expensive Birkin bag to date was in 2022 when Sotheby’s auctioned the “Diamond Himalaya Birkin,” a bag studded with white diamonds. The bag went for a whopping $450,000 (Rs 4 lakh).
And while the quality of craftsmanship — it takes 18 to 20 hours for one bag to be created by master craftspeople who have to undergo between two and six years of training before starting work in Hermès’ leather workshop — could be one of the reasons why the bag is so alluring, it’s scarcity is what makes it the bag that all wish to possess.
Jérôme Lalande, an antique dealer specialising in 20th-Century leather goods, opines that there are only around 200,000 in circulation. Hermès remains tightlipped about the number of Birkins they produce each year, making it even more difficult to get your hands on the most-wanted accessory.
Hermes also doesn’t retail online. That means if one wants a Birkin, they have to go to one of the few Hermes stores to purchase one. But just reaching the store isn’t enough. Earlier, potential customers were placed on a waitlist, which could be as long as a five-year wait. Today, to be a Birkin owner, customers must have a purchase history with the brand. Stores are only allowed to order a limited number of Birkins twice a year.
However, if you can’t be patient, another option to be a Birkin owner is auctions and the second-hand market. Many analysts even believe that buying a Birkin is not just a fashion statement, it’s a sound investment. A 2017 study revealed the value of Hermès Birkin bags increased 500 per cent in the last 35 years, an increase of 14 per cent per year.
It’s perhaps for these reasons that Yahya Sinwar’s wife reportedly bought the Birkin. We may never know. But we do know that Hermes’ Birkin will forever be a luxurious product that captivates and inspires people.
With inputs from agencies