The secret economics of the Birkin bag
Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Subscribe to The Economist Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters By Brooke Unger O n a flight from Paris to London in 1983 Jane Birkin, an Anglo-French chanteuse and actress, spilled the contents of her overstuffed straw bag, including her Hermès diary. Jean-Louis Dumas, Hermès’s chief executive at the time, gallantly picked it up. They chatted about overflowing containers in general and her inadequate weekend bag in particular. Dumas, who had not only exquisite manners but also a fine nose for opportunity, designed a receptacle to her specifications that has become the world’s most expensive handbag. Prices start at $7,000; in June Christie’s Hong Kong sold a matte Himalayan crocodile-skin Birkin with a ten-carat diamond-studded white-gold clasp and lock for $300,168. A daily newsletter with the best of our journalism Nic
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