Birkin Bags Are More Valuable Than Ever—Here's How to Get Your Hands on One | 6AW7GH4

Birkin Bags Are More Valuable Than Ever—Here's How to Get Your Hands on One | 6AW7GH4 | 2024-01-31 22:08:01

From Hollywood to the FROW, the long-lasting Birkin bag has turn out to be a worldwide symbol of standing and wealth. Its easy-to-recognise form and hardware might be customised in numerous supplies, and it's handcrafted in a six-phase course of over the course of 20 hours. Even with its jaw-dropping price tag, the Hermès Birkin remains one of the crucial troublesome bags to get your palms on because of overwhelming demand. In 2020, luxurious resale website Vestiaire Collective revealed that the Birkin was one of many most in-demand bags and noticed a 185% improve in sales that yr. Two years on, it's risen in worth by more than four%—proving once once more that luxury goods can be great investments. However what precisely has given this iconic piece of arm candy such enduring reputation? To know how the Birkin bag turned such a hot-ticket item, read on.

In 1983, so the story goes, Jean-Louis Dumas—chief government of Hermès at the time—was seated subsequent to Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. When the actress's top-handle basket bag tipped over, pouring all of its contents on the floor, Dumas felt inspired to design the icon a bag that was equally as trendy as her signature type but would truly keep closed—so impressed, in truth, that he drew the preliminary design on an aeroplane sick bag (chic) proper then and there. And shortly after, the Birkin bag was born.

Celebrities are not any strangers to the Birkin bag—certainly you've got seen the Kardashian squad toting their Birkins on any extremely papped health club run or airport outing. Kris Jenner is claimed to have an entire room dedicated to her Birkins, complete with a neon sign that reads "Want cash for Birkins," a sentiment we will (type of) relate to. Kim Kardashian West even let her daughter North customise one in every of hers in what needs to be the costliest arts-and-crafts session of all time.

Ashley Olsen is one other superstar who is usually seen dashing round with a Birkin within the crook of her arm, as is Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio. Nevertheless, it appears that evidently nobody is as huge a fan of the long-lasting arm candy as Victoria Beckham. It's guesstimated that she owns upwards of 120 Birkin luggage. Although, you're extra more likely to see her sporting considered one of her personal designs nowadays.

So simply what is it concerning the Birkin bag that has garnered it such a cult A-list following? Exclusivity, in fact. Its difficult-to-get nature and recognisability make it the right flashy piece for many who love the spotlight.

The posh resale market has seen an enormous growth prior to now few years, with corporations like Vestiaire Collective and Xupes asserting that the Hermès Birkin bag retains round 130% of its retail worth at resale. The reasoning behind this? Shortage. It's extensively recognized you'll be able to't simply stroll into any Hermès store and anticipate one of the pristine shop assistants to raise the pink ropes and current you with a number of Birkin luggage to choose from. As Vestiaire co-founder Fanny Moizant succinctly places it, "Something that's onerous to get is very coveted, and there's a thriller around the luggage, which makes them even more sought-after."

On 12 June 2019, Christie's London hosted a handbag auction featuring a number of the world's most exotic finds, including an Hermès Birkin bag that bought for an unbelievable £162,500. This was the second-most-expensive handbag ever bought at public sale—the report was broken in 2018 when the Matte Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 35 with 18-karat white gold and diamond hardware went for a colossal £236,750. One has to marvel—when would a person wear a six-figure purse? Definitely not when their personal security group takes annual depart.

Indeed, it seems that a Birkin's value just keeps going up. Baghunter shared that between June 2016 and 2017, the worth of Birkins on the resale market rose by 16%. Since then, Baghunter has carried out a brand new report, which discovered a rising hole between demand and supply of Birkin handbags, leading to a "mini Hermès drought" within the resale market. "With all indicators displaying Hermès has not increased manufacturing of the Birkin bag, the value of the Birkin is about to spike soon," stated Evelyn Fox, co-founder of Baghunter.

We're no skilled on investments, but we might say the Birkin seems like a reasonably positive guess. This begs the query: Inventory market or bag connoisseur? We'll take the luggage, thanks.