Jane Birkin’s Hermès Birkin prototype sells at Sotheby’s auction for $10.1 million. Credit :

Jun Sato/WireImage; Sotheby’s

• The Hermès’ Birkin prototype originally made for and owned by Jane Birkin was sold by Sotheby’s for $10.1 million in Paris on July 10
• Birkin’s iconic handbag, which debuted in 1985, was bid on in a 10-minute auction “battle” among nine collectors, ultimately landing in the hands of an unidentified shopper from Japan
• Former Hermès artist director Jean-Louis Dumas was inspired to create the now beloved Birkin handbag when he sat next to the British actress on a plane ride in 1981

The prototype for Hermès’ beloved Birkin bags, which was made for and owned by Jane Birkin herself, is officially off the market.

After Sotheby’s scheduled the coveted item to be auctioned off as a part of their Paris Fashion Icons sale, the bag was sold on July 10 in Paris to an unidentified Japanese bidder, who secured the deal for $10.1 million (the bidding originally opened at $1.7 million).

According to the institution, the competitive bidding “battle” took place between nine collectors who participated in person, over phone and online. The event lasted 10 minutes.

Jane Birkin with her Hermès Birkin bag at the 2010 France Film Festival. Jun Sato/WireImage

The sale broke multiple records to land a spot just under Judy Garland’s Ruby Red Slippers from 1939’s The Wizard Oz — which sold on Dec. 7, 2024 in Dallas for a whopping $32.5 million — as the second most valuable fashion item ever sold. It’s new status also means it is now the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction, a title previously held by Hermès’ White Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Retourne Kelly 28, sold at $513,040 in 2021.

In a press statement, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion Morgane Halimi shared: “The spectacular sale of the Original Hermès Birkin today at Sotheby’s Paris marks an important milestone in the history of fashion and the luxury industry more widely. It is a startling demonstration of the power of a legend and its capacity to ignite the passion and desire of collectors seeking exceptional items with unique provenance, to own its origin.”

The Hermès Birkin bag dates back to 1981. The bag’s inception was kismet, happening, of all places, on an Air France Flight, where Hermès’ then artist director, Jean-Louis Dumas, saw Birkin’s need for a fashionable yet practical — and most importantly, large — bag when the belongings fell out of her favored wicker basket. It was in 1985 when Hermès asked Birkin to name the silhouette after her, and, the rest was history.

While there have been many iterations of the Birkin throughout the decades, there’s a few distinguishing elements on Birkin’s original. Unlike the models commercially sold, the singer’s purse features a non-removable shoulder strap, closed metal rings, smaller studs, a build measuring somewhere between a Birkin 35 and Birkin 40, and gilded brass hardware. It also includes a chain from which dangles a nail clipper nodding to Birkin’s love for a trimmed manicure. The most special detail, though, lies in its engraving of Birkin’s initials on the front flap.

The Hermès Birkin prototype. Sotheby’s

The original Birkin has been sold twice, while appearing publicly at a number of exhibitions. In 1994, the singer donated the prototype to an auction benefiting French AIDS charity Association Solidarité Sida. “The bag was sold again at auction at Poulain Le Fur in May 2000 and has remained in private hands ever since,” notes Sotheby’s. Additionally, the memorabilia was first publicly exhibited at Sotheby’s Paris Galleries last fall before traveling to Hong Kong, New York and then back to Paris before it was auctioned.

Throughout her lifetime, Hermès had gifted Birkin four additional bags, yet she remained loyal to the OG, taking it everywhere she went.

Jane Birkin at the 2005 Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer show with her Birkin. Michel Dufour/WireImage

The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

Jane Birkin, who remains a fashion icon today, died at the age of 76 on July 16, 2023. Her cause of death remained unknown but it was reported that she’d become plagued with health issues, including a stroke in 2021 and a broken shoulder blade earlier that same year, which had kept her from performing and appearing publicly.

Born in London in December 1946 to Judy Campbell and David Birkin, the actress found fame — and a lifelong home — in France after moving to Paris to work on the movie Slogan when she was 20.

Jane Birkin and director Bertrand Tavernier in 1990. GILLES LEIMDORFER/AFP via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Despite her British roots, the singer became a fashion icon in France in the 1960s and ‘70s. In a 2006 interview with CNN, the actress reflected on her style status in the country that “adopted” her and, ever-so-humbly, pinned it to luck.

“They like my accent [and] when I came here the skirts were shorter than anyone else’s,” she said. “Everyone at home was wearing just the same as me. I was the lucky one because I got here first so they thought it was my fashion.”