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Humble handbag smashes world auction record with $15m sale

<p>It started life on an air sickness bag. It ended with someone in Japan spending €8.6 million ($15.29 million AUD) on it. No, not the bag you reach for mid-turbulence – <em>THE</em> bag. The original, one-of-a-kind, barf-bag-born Birkin.</p> <p>At a Paris auction that had more gasps than a Eurovision final, the iconic prototype Hermès Birkin handbag – sketched by Jane Birkin herself somewhere over the English Channel – sold for a frankly nauseating €7 million ($12.44 million AUD) before fees, setting a new bar for luxury handbags and spontaneous aircraft doodles.</p> <p>As the price soared past €2 million ($3.56 million AUD)... €3 million ($5.33 million AUD)... €5 million ($8.88 million AUD), the crowd broke into applause, whistles and likely a few whispered prayers that their plus-ones wouldn’t get ideas. When it leapt from €5.5 million ($9.78 million AUD) to €6 million ($10.78 million AUD) in one go, some probably checked their own bags for loose sketches, just in case.</p> <p>The lucky winner? A still-anonymous bidder from Japan, who triumphed after a ten-minute telephone bidding showdown that could've been scored like a tennis match. In the end, they took the prize for €7 million ($12.44 million AUD), bringing the final hammer price with Sotheby’s fees to €8.6 million ($15.29 million AUD) – a mere snip if you ignore every financial decision you’ve ever made.</p> <p>The price absolutely destroyed the previous record for a handbag, which was a dainty $513,040 ($770,490 AUD) shelled out in 2021 for another Hermès bag (the White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28 – a name with more syllables than most people’s resumes).</p> <p>This means the Birkin is now officially the second most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction. Only Dorothy’s ruby red slippers outrank it, having clicked their heels all the way to $32.5 million ($49.43 million AUD) last year. Somewhere over the rainbow, indeed.</p> <p>The original Birkin isn’t just expensive; it’s delightfully quirky. It’s the only one with a non-removable shoulder strap (because Birkin had things to do), and came with a nail clipper. Yes, a nail clipper. Practicality, thy name is Jane.</p> <p>As Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s head of handbags and fashion, put it with appropriate reverence: “It is incredible to think that a bag initially designed by Hermès as a practical accessory for Jane Birkin has become the most desirable bag in history.” Not bad for a design born out of spilled baby bottles and boarding pass chaos.</p> <p>Jane Birkin (actor, singer, fashion muse and mother) reportedly kept the prototype for nearly a decade before auctioning it in 1994 for AIDS research. Since then, it’s changed hands a few times, making its way back into the spotlight like a seasoned celebrity on a comeback tour.</p> <p>The previous owner, known only as Catherine B (because if you own this bag, you don’t need a last name), told journalists: “The price is the price of the Hermès story.” Which, translated, roughly means: "It's a nice bag. Also, it's basically priceless."</p> <p>To be fair, it is more than just a bag. It’s a symbol. A cultural artefact. A reminder that sometimes brilliance strikes mid-flight, and that fashion history can be born in the same seat pocket where you once stashed a sad sandwich and a crumpled boarding pass.</p> <p>As Birkin herself once joked before her passing in 2023: “They’ll say, ‘Like the bag,’ or something.” Honestly, Jane, we could do a lot worse.</p> <p><em>Images: Sotheby's</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Musician sells artworks she created live on stage

<p dir="ltr">Grammy-nominated pop star Halsey is doing her bit to support reproductive rights in the US, as she enters the world of fine arts. </p> <p dir="ltr">Currently on tour around America, Halsey has created five artworks while performing live on stage, with the pieces now for sale at Sotheby’s. </p> <p dir="ltr">All proceeds from the sales will benefit the National Network of Abortion Funds. </p> <p dir="ltr">The drawings are included in the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/contemporary-discoveries-4?locale=en">Contemporary Discoveries</a> exhibition, which features artists such as David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and Os Gêmeos. </p> <p dir="ltr">Halsey’s works are expected to fetch around $7,000 each, with bids currently ranging </p> <p dir="ltr">between $5,500 and $6,500.</p> <p dir="ltr">She created each piece on different nights of her Love and Power Tour, while singing an untitled three-minute song. </p> <p dir="ltr">Hand moving in tandem with the melody, Halsey swiftly brought to life on white canvas androgynous faces punctuated by primary colours. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to the artist, the paintings are meant to symbolise the individual energies of each audience.</p> <p dir="ltr">Halsey has long been an outspoken advocate for women's rights and reproductive healthcare access. </p> <p dir="ltr">After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in July, she <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/my-abortion-saved-my-life-roe-v-wade-halsey">shared her personal experience</a> with a life-saving abortion procedure in an essay for Vogue. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I miscarried three times before my 24th birthday,” She wrote. “One of my miscarriages required ‘aftercare,’ a gentle way of saying that I would need an abortion, because my body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Many people have asked me if, since carrying a child to term after years of struggling to do so, I have reconsidered my stance on abortion,” Halsey continued. “The answer is firmly no. In fact, I have never felt more strongly about it.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Sotheby’s</em></p>

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