It is the most coveted handbag in the world – and it can only be purchased by invitation from its famous French manufacturer.
And now fashion experts have revealed the fascinating secrets of the coveted Hermès Birkin bags that rich bag lovers are dying to buy.
Birkin bags are made from materials such as crocodile and alligator skin, as well as luxury leathers with fancy names like Tadelakt and Monsieur Grainee. They take at least 18 hours to hand-make. The “base model” costs around $11,400 before taxes if you buy it directly from Hermès, while special editions can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But producing these expensive handbags costs Hermès just under $1,000, analysts told the Wall Street Journal.
Dedicated shoppers have gone to great lengths to get their hands on the handbags that Produced in limited quantities and typically only offered to customers who have a long purchasing history with the brand.
Insiders told the Journal that Hermès buyers would have to shell out $10,000 for other items such as shoes and scarves before they were invited to purchase a basic model.
To be considered for a rare, limited edition handbag, Hermès regulars reportedly have to spend around $200,000 on other items in the store.
Even if the coveted offer is made, buyers are shown only a single bag they have been asked to purchase and are not allowed to specify the color.
If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a Hermès Birkin, you can sell it for around $23,000 to an online reseller, who will then offer it for around $32,000.
Bag fans say this proves the handbags are a good investment – but forget the thousands they had to spend on other things before they got their hands on a Birkin.
“Each piece is hand-crafted in the Hermès atelier in Pantin, France, by a skilled craftsman,” Rachel Koffsky, international head of handbags and accessories at Christie’s, previously told DailyMail.com.
Koffsky explained that the bag was designed after a “chance meeting” in 1983 with British film star, style icon and singer Jane Birkin.
Birkin was frustrated because she couldn’t find a handbag in the right size, so she and Jean-Louis Dumas, the CEO of Hermès, sat down on a flight to London and sketched out the bag she wanted.
In return for producing the now famous handbag, Birkin, who died in 2023, received a royalty from Hermès every year.
The story of the creation of this luxurious bag alone has attracted buyers all over the world and contributed to the hype surrounding the handbag.
“It’s a great story,” David Dubois, associate professor of marketing at the Insead business school, told the WSJ.
The bag wasn’t always that hard to get hold of, as it was originally sold off the shelf in Hermès boutiques in the early 1990s.
The drastic economic change took place during the financial crisis between 2008 and 2009, says Matthew Rubinger, chief commercial officer at 1stDibs, an online marketplace.
“When the prices (of the limited editions) exceeded the $100,000 mark, things got more serious,” Rubinger explained, adding that the idea of a bag without a logo was easy to implement in any season and would never go out of style.
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For many fashion fans, these iconic accessories are the ultimate status symbol, reserved exclusively for celebrities, socialites and the super-rich.
Some of Hollywood’s most famous actors, singers and models, including Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, have been spotted carrying a Birkin bag.
Kim, a huge Birkin fan, is said to own a bag collection worth between $50,000 and $500,000.
The “It Bag” caused such hysteria that people did almost anything, even bleached the butts of Hermès employees, to get one.
Some even went so far as to drop off freshly baked cookies, offer tickets to see Beyoncé or a trip to the Cannes Film Festival on a private plane, or even hand over a wad of cash to employees – just to buy themselves a Birkin case.
In addition, buyers are willing to spend thousands of dollars on other Hermès products just to prove their loyalty to the French luxury brand.
Birkin collectors explained that serious buyers who want to “qualify” will have to invest in other items that are not as desirable as the handbag, including watches, shoes, silk scarves and even an $87,500 canoe.
When new deliveries arrive, Hermès sales assistants point to their special lists of wealthy clients waiting to get their hands on a bag.
That employee must then determine why the customer deserves the bag and get the manager’s approval before moving forward.
During the detailed proceedings, the company was sued by two customers who claimed that the company forced its customers to overcome very costly hurdles in order to have the opportunity to purchase one of the bags.
In March, two Californians, Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga, proposed a class action lawsuit alleging that they had to purchase other luxury items from the retailer in order to get a Birkin.
According to The Fashion Law, Hermès was accused of antitrust and unfair business practices after the company exploited the “unique desirability, incredible demand and low supply” of the designer bags.
Tina and Mark accused Hermès of using the hard-to-find bags to boost sales of other products, claiming that customers are often advised to develop a close relationship with their salesperson and eventually earn the handbag by purchasing other items from the brand.
In response, the company stated in a recently filed court document that it does not require its customers to purchase other products to get one of the famous bags.
But even when customers are offered one of the coveted bags, they often have no choice as to which color or size they want to take home, so they turn to resellers who fulfill their specific wishes.
Reselling a Birkin purchased from Hermès is considered a dirty secret and none of the women – or men – who do so would speak officially to the Journal for fear of being blacklisted by the brand.
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Some customers have even avoided the tedious process of purchasing a bag from a boutique and have turned exclusively to resellers.
Michelle Berk, founder of Privé Porter, a “private collection store for new Hermès bags,” described the resale market at Birkin’s as a “buy it now button.”
Although the company explicitly advises its customers on receipts that they may not “resell, directly or indirectly, for commercial purposes” Hermès products purchased in our boutiques, we are aware of the trade because it ultimately helps the brand.
In January, the brand decided to increase the price of its exotic leather Birkin shoes by 20 percent – a decision that many resellers believe is detrimental to their business models.
Instead of being impressed, the resellers sold their goods to their customers without a drastic price increase.
The number of other pristine Hermès items for sale on resale sites shows that people are spending thousands on things they don’t want, analysts say.
About 35 percent of Hermès items listed on TheRealReal are in pristine condition, far more than the 20 percent of items from competitors such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada.
It is believed that these shoes, scarves and other non-Birkin accessories were purchased only in the hope of securing a bag.
And even if you eventually spend enough money to buy a Birkin, the retailer reportedly only offers you a maximum of two of these bags per year.
Hermès reportedly has no plans to increase production of the bag. The exclusivity preserves the bag’s prestige – and also dramatically increases sales of other Hermès items, which are bought by people desperate for an invitation to buy a Birkin.