Behind the scenes in the Birkin bag battles The Times Louisa McKenzie Behind the scenes in the Birkin bag battles new Luxury handbags have long been considered an investment; but a new generation of collectors have changed the rules of the game Jane Birkin's original, visibly used prototype, sold at Sotheby's in Paris for €8.6m Louisa McKenzie Monday October 26 2026, 4.10am GMT , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 13:46 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Puzzles Challenge yourself with today's puzzles. I nside Kiran Chhabria's wardrobe, some of the world's most valuable handbags are neither spotlit nor arranged as an Instagram-ready wall of colour. Instead the collector keeps them in ventilated cupboards in a cool room, taking them out every few weeks to air. “I use all my bags,” she tells us. “But they are not on display.” This is not a modest collection. Chhabria, a Dubai-based businesswoman, began buying Hermès in 2002 and has spent more than two decades pursuing elusive colours and discontinued designs. A Birkin in Rose Tyrien, an almost electrically bright pink, took two years to secure. Then came a Himalaya, a fringed Birkin, a vintage Teddy Kelly, a Shadow Birkin and a Kelly Doll. “There was a joke that I would never pass by a Hermès store without going into one and seeing what they had,” she says. Luxury newsletter The inside track on tech, travel, philanthropy and the hottest handbags, cars and spas. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Luxury newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Luxury newsletter Explore our newsletters Welcome to the upper reaches of handbag collecting, where “having a Birkin” is merely the beginning. Serious collectors distinguish between leathers from several feet away, debate whether a Retourne Kelly should be allowed to slouch and remember colours Hermès discontinued years ago. They cultivate relationships with sales associates in several countries, monitor auctions and private dealers, and may wait years for a particular conjunction of model, size, leather, colour and hardware. Top stories 1 How Meghan has struggled in private since her very public marriage Celebrity 2 At 39, I was married to a good man. So why did I end things? Sex & Relationships 3 Marcus Wareing: Why I pulled out of working with Gordon Ramsay (again) Celebrity 4 My family are finding it difficult to talk about my cancer diagnosis Health & Fitness The numbers can be startling. Last year Jane Birkin's original , visibly used prototype sold at Sotheby's in Paris for €8.6m (￡7.4m), after nine bidders fought over it for ten minutes. The buyer was the Japanese resale entrepreneur Shinsuke Sakimoto. This year an Hermès Faubourg Birkin 20 in Rouge Sellier — one of fewer than ten believed to exist — made €635,000 (￡545,000) at Christie's, more than twice its low estimate and a record for the model. A white version subsequently sold in Hong Kong for HK$4.3m (more than ￡400,000). Jane Birkin at the 2005 Jean Paul Gaultier spring/summer show during Paris Fashion Week michel dufour/WireImage Yet away from the saleroom, the Birkin is suffering a peculiar identity crisis. A recent article in New York Magazine detailed the wealthy owners who believe influencers have “killed” the It bag. A beauty writer identified only as Tanya, who owns four Birkins and 25 Hermès bags, told the magazine that she had become embarrassed to carry them because the model was now so visible on social media. The article exposed the paradox at the heart of conspicuous luxury: a handbag must be recognisable enough to be covetable, yet not so recognisable that it appears commonplace. Advertisement Kiran Chhabria has spent two decades building her handbag collection @howshespendsit The reaction from collectors on Reddit's r/TheHermesGame forum was unsparing. “If seeing others have them gives someone the ick,” wrote the user QuestionablyVerdant, “I fear you were more into the exclusivity than the house itself.” Another contributor, Aggravating_Baker557, argued that the offended owners were in love not with leather goods but with “exclusivity and gatekeeping”. Others agreed that constant appearances on Instagram and TikTok had made Birkins and Kellys feel less rare, while the growth of the resale and counterfeit markets had further punctured the illusion of scarcity. One forum member supplied a more painful market anecdote. They had considered consigning an unused Birkin 35 in Fjord leather to Sotheby's several years ago, but sentiment intervened. “Now, the resale market is too oversaturated in general,” they wrote, “so, it sits.” Top stories 1 Bank shares are booming. Here's why I won't be buying any Saving & Investing Rachel Koffsky Parker, the international head of handbags at Christie's, says that the market has transformed since the auction house began holding dedicated sales in 2012. Live auctions followed in Hong Kong in 2014 and the United States in 2015; record prices generated publicity and drew new bidders. During the pandemic, the shuttered boutiques and cancelled travel drove buyers online, while social media introduced a younger audience to vintage fashion. Hermes Quelle Idole in Rose Mexico Swift Leather and Rouge de Couer Alligator from 2022 Christie's Hermès Faubourg Birkin 20 in Rouge Sellier Christie's “Today, unlike a decade ago, luxury handbags are firmly established as a serious collecting category,” Koffsky Parker says. “While rarity, craftsmanship and condition remain significant factors, provenance has become increasingly important for collectors seeking truly exceptional pieces.” Most commented 1 Michael Carrick looks resigned to fate as United fans turn on owners Football 377 comments 2 Brazil election: Lula re-elected but Bolsonaro refuses to concede Latin America 160 comments 3 Two men killed by falling trees as Storm Boelo batters UK Weather 101 comments 4 Shabana Mahmood 'must quit if migration reforms are watered down' Politics 42 comments 5 Terrorist linked to Isis 'smuggled himself into UK on back of lorry' Crime 48 comments The distinction between a handbag and an investment, however, is becoming sharper. Exceptional Hermès pieces still dominate: Birkins and Kellys in rare sizes, materials and colours; the playful Quelle Idole and Kelly Doll Picto; and the increasingly fashionable Kelly Pochette. Early-2000s designs are being rediscovered too. The wide, slouchy Shoulder Birkin, once an eccentric footnote, is desirable to millennial collectors, while Karl Lagerfeld-era Chanel runway novelties are pursued precisely because so few were made. A Chanel shopping-basket bag from the memorable spring/summer 2014 supermarket show sold at Christie's for $152,400 (￡112,500) in December. A conventional bag in a fashionable colour should not be confused with a unique prototype or runway rarity. “Two handbags from the same luxury house may appear similar,” Koffsky Parker says, “but differences in condition, material, rarity or ownership history can create a substantial difference in value.” Advertisement The Chanel Shopping Basket which sold at Christie's for $152,400 in December 2025 Christie's The Hermès Birkin Sellier Faubourg “Snow” with Palladium Hardware stefano rellandini/AFP Catherine B, the Parisian vintage specialist who owned Jane Birkin's original bag for 25 years, offers a glimpse of how top collectors think. When the prototype appeared at auction in 2000, she bid remotely, keeping her face out of the saleroom and allowing rival bidders to reveal their appetite before committing herself. When she won, she later recalled to Sotheby's, it felt less as though she owned the Birkin than that “it had taken possession of me”. She went on to lend it to exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the V&A in London, treating it as a cultural object rather than an immobilised investment. “I see handbags as traditional works of art,” she added. Jane Birkin carried a ￡10k bag with an air of 'Oh, this old thing' Chhabria is more sceptical about the investment language now surrounding ordinary luxury bags. For more than 20 years she bought handbags with their future value in mind and sometimes accepted pieces she did not particularly love because they were limited editions or difficult to obtain. “Social media has given women the idea that it is normal to have massive handbag collections,” she tells us. This has been helped by headlines declaring that a Birkin is a better investment than gold. “Sadly, I think this is a bubble and it will burst.” The auction results that attract attention, she points out, generally apply to pristine bags in the precise sizes and colours currently in fashion — not to every Birkin sitting in a wardrobe. Most handbag collectors prefer to remain anonymous, but they all have specific routines to better preserve their leather assets. Bags are lightly stuffed to preserve their shape, placed in breathable dust bags and separated so that leather and hardware do not rub. Direct sunlight discolours leather; heat dries it; overstuffing distorts it. Protective plastic left on hardware can trap moisture, while keys, glasses and wallets may leave permanent “press marks” in the lining. Even the padlock is a threat: specialists advise storing it separately to prevent scratches. One collector stuffs bags with acid-free tissue. Another keeps her Kelly in a glass cabinet but takes it out regularly “to use it and let it breathe”. A particularly organised owner chooses six bags each month for a three-tier rotation shelf, effectively shopping her own wardrobe. The anonymous Hermès collector known online as EL4BZ stores her bags upright in their original dust bags, joking in one interview that they resemble “sentries ready to be used”. Rosie Fortescue, formerly of Made in Chelsea and the founder of her eponymous jewellery brand, and her twin sister, Lily, founded bag-d after spending years using plastic food bags to protect the interiors of their own luxury handbags. Fortescue says lipstick and lip gloss are among the worst offenders, “They are sticky and will stain the interior of your handbag almost immediately.” Advertisement Rosie Fortescue with bag-d's Birkin 25 insert Her own anxiety began with a Vert Fizz Mini Kelly, whose exceptionally pale leather made any accident potentially ruinous. “It was a conscious purchase of investment and style together,” she says. “That's where I learnt that it wasn't a good look to be using plastic food bags in my handbags.” The company's Birkin 25 insert sold out almost immediately and remains its bestselling size. Fortescue believes this reflects the model's usefulness rather than its status as an object to be locked away. She carries her own Birkin 25 day and night. “I believe in using my belongings and enjoying my investments,” she says. “They are not just to be looked at.” The risks extend far beyond a leaking lip gloss. Matthew Ashton, a private-client insurance specialist at Stanhope , recalls a handbag collection worth more than ￡700,000 that was stolen in an apparently carefully planned operation. The perpetrators, he says, appeared to have spent considerable time studying the owner's daily routine and the layout of the property. The most complicated part, however, came after the theft. The handbags had not been individually declared as valuables and the wording of the insurance policy appeared to classify them as general household contents, potentially entitling the owner to full replacement. The insurer, however, argued that a collection of such scale and value should have been separately declared and settled on a different basis. More than six months of negotiation followed before the parties reached a satisfactory outcome. “If you own a significant handbag collection, it is essential that the items are properly specified on the insurance schedule,” Ashton says. “The basis of settlement should be agreed from the outset, rather than debated after a loss has occurred.” Jane Birkin's original Hermès bag sells for record €8.6 million Even establishing the correct sum can be difficult. A receipt records what a collector paid, not necessarily what it would cost to replace a rare bag. “In many cases, the retail price and the true replacement cost are very different,” Ashton tells us. “Insurers will often rely on specialist valuers who understand the luxury handbag market and can assess replacement values based on factors such as rarity, condition, provenance, materials and current market demand. However, some of the most sought-after handbags cannot simply be replaced through a retailer. Long waiting lists, restricted allocations and limited production runs mean replacement may only be possible via the secondary market, where prices can be significantly higher than the original purchase price.” Ashton therefore advises collectors to retain receipts, authenticity certificates, valuations, photographs and payment records — particularly for bags bought privately or in cash. “Without receipts, valuation certificates, photographs or evidence of payment, establishing ownership can become much more difficult,” he says. Hermès Birkin bags on display during Luxury Week at Christie's in 2021 cindy ord/Getty images There are traps outside the home too. Owners often assume that an insured handbag is covered wherever they take it, but some policies require it to remain within their close personal custody. Leaving a Birkin unattended on a restaurant chair while visiting the bathroom could, depending on the wording, lead to a theft claim being limited or rejected. Ashton also cautions collectors against displaying valuable bags online alongside information revealing their homes, routines or travel plans. Since a large collection cannot easily be placed in a conventional safe the more effective defence, he says, is usually the security of the house itself: monitored alarms, high-quality locks, CCTV and measures designed to delay an intruder's entry and escape. Advertisement For some owners, the intended destination is not auction but inheritance. After her collection of Birkins, Kellys and inherited jewellery was stolen in a 2017 burglary, the American actress and Real Housewives star Kyle Richards began rebuilding it. “I try to get four of everything for each of my daughters,” she told Vogue. Chhabria identifies a contradiction in collecting. Male collectors of watches, cars, wine or art are credited with discernment, while women collecting handbags are easily dismissed as frivolous. “What makes one seem admirable and another vapid?” she asks. Jane Birkin's battered original handbag was worth €8.6m because it was unmistakably hers jan sato/Getty images Her own response to the booming market has been to become less acquisitive. Hermès and Louis Vuitton have repeatedly returned to their archives, reviving designs that collectors had spent years hunting down. Scarcity, she discovered, can be temporary; desire is more dependable. Now she ignores the seductive suggestion that she is “lucky to be offered” something. Unless she wants to leave the shop carrying it immediately, she walks away. That may be the most valuable insider rule of all. Jane Birkin's battered original was worth €8.6m precisely because it wasn't pristine, but because she had carried it for years, covered it in stickers and charms, and made it unmistakably hers. Life & Style LUXX Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save