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Say the name Jane Birkin out loud and you’ll immediately evoke a visual of a boxy, buckle-clad, padlock-equipped, top-handle handbag priced somewhere in the five figures. But the British-born actress, singer, and model, who’s considered by many the echelon of French-girl beauty alongside figures like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot, led a full, many-layered life beyond being synonymous with a status-symbol purse. And Marisa Meltzer — the journalist behind the bestselling book “Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier,” which follows the road to success of one of beauty’s biggest brands —  has just given us an inside look into all of it.

Her new novel, “It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin,” already ranks as the #1 new release in Amazon’s “Fashion Books” category. It’s set to be officially released on October 7, but you can already pre-order the 224-pager in hardcover, Kindle, or audiobook form.

This marks the first time Birkin’s life was comprehensively profiled, as Meltzer details her coming of age in London; 1960s acting career start; famous relationship with Serge Gainsbourg, of a romantic and professional nature; fortuitous foray into singing; later life in Paris; motherhood journey; and lasting legacy. Birkin has released multiple albums following her internationally acclaimed yet scandalously raunchy duet with Gainsbourg, “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” while racking up extensive acting credits — all of which helped solidify her place in the French creative circles of the late 20th century, as well as international ones.

Amidst all of this, Birkin held a strong appreciation for fashion: becoming a full-fledged style icon with her bohemian aesthetic sensibilities that prioritized staples like white jeans, basket bags, crochet dresses, crop tops, and provocatively sheer gowns worn out in public, long before the sheer trend started overtaking red carpets and celebrity wardrobes.

As the story goes, according to Birkin herself in a 2020 CNN interview, the Birkin bag entered the world after her chance encounter with Jean-Louis Dumas, Hermès’ chief executive at the time, on a flight. She complained to him that her wear-everywhere basket bag just wasn’t doing its job properly when she needed to haul a lot of things around as a young mother, even going so far as to draw out her vision on an in-flight sick bag. Shortly thereafter, Dumas turned Birkin’s dreams of an alternative carryall into reality — gifting her with a Birkin bag prototype and putting the silhouette on the market in 1984. Today, the term “Jane Birkin-ify,” in the context of accessorizing your handbag, exists because of Birkin’s liberal approach to making the Hermès piece distinctly her own, using stickers representing the humanitarian causes she believed in.

There’s no question that this history, alongside other gems about Birkin revealed by Meltzer, has made the woman in question, who died on July 16, 2023, more than worthy of icon status. But such a term can often erase the nuances of an individual’s inner life, swapping them out for something incomplete and impersonal. A particular phrase stands out in the book, offered by Birkin herself: “Even when you show it all, you reveal very little.” So while aspirants to Birkin’s effortless grace and free-spirited personal style will never know everything about her, “It Girl” provides the best, most unadulterated shot at it.

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Meet the Author

Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on new, fashion-themed book releases.