Jane Birkin‘s original Hermès Birkin sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s in Paris on Thursday, breaking the previous bidding record by nearly 20 times. Presented as “one of the most iconic fashion items ever created,” as WWD reported, the all-black leather Birkin prototype commissioned in 1984 for the British actress and singer generated one of the world’s most recognizable and coveted handbag styles.

The Birkin bag has become a universal status symbol, with Birkins boasting record-high resale prices and countless celebrity collectors.

Recalling her influence on the brand, Jane Birkin told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in a 2020 broadcast that after meeting Hermès executive Jean-Louis Dumas on an airplane, she sketched out the design on a sick bag. In need of a carry-all suitable for young mothers, she based her blueprint on one of the brand’s popular models.

“I said, ‘Why don’t you make a bag that’s four times the Kelly that you can leave open?’ Because girls like to have things on the end of their arm to put all their stuff in,” Birkin said.

Dumas added upon Birkin’s sketch by taking inspiration from Hermès’ Haut à Courroies bag. He eventually gifted the actress a black calfskin prototype of the Birkin, suggesting that the new purse be named after her. However, she wasn’t the French label’s first celebrity muse — Hermès renamed its Sac à dépêches after Grace Kelly in 1977.

“You know, when I’m dead, not only will people remember me for ‘Je t’aime moi non plus,’ but they’ll possibly only talk about the bag,” Birkin said in the same CNN interview.

Birkin died on July 16, 2023, at the age of 76, leaving her mark on French cinema, music and the fashion world. One of the actress and singer’s very own Birkins went on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as part of a 2021 exhibition titled “Bags: Inside Out.” The original tote is embossed with her initials.

Birkin preferred to add unique touches to her handbag. Tapping into her passion for activism, she often covered it in stickers promoting her favorite causes. Birkin also accessorized its handles with beads, charms and ribbons.

Hermès is said to have paid approximately $40,000 in royalties to Birkin annually in exchange for the use of her name. She consistently donated this money to various charities.

Despite sharing its namesake, the actress only owned a few Birkins in her lifetime. She put one of them up for auction in 2014, donating the proceeds to Anno’s Africa, a nonprofit named after her late nephew. The same bag was put up for sale again in 2021, fetching $162,000 at an auction hosted by Bonhams.

Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin auction

Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag was sold for 8.6 million euros, about $10.1 million, at Sotheby’s in Paris on July 10, becoming the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction.

“I am astonished at the result but, as a passionate collector myself, I am first and foremost profoundly moved by the way other collectors have invested so much fervor in trying to acquire what they clearly desired beyond words. It made me relive my own bidding battle, twenty five years ago, and how raw and indescribable the feeling of winning over this wonderful bag was. I’m already very nostalgic at the thought of knowing the bag is no longer mine but extremely happy it has found a new loving home. I wish the new owner as much happiness as I experienced with it,” said Catherine B, the last owner of the original Birkin, via statement.