SPRING ONLINE AUCTION (3-4 MARCH 2020)

HERMÈS BIRKIN

Hermès Birkin 35 Alezan colour Togo leather bag with gold

hardware and scarf

Year: 2003

Includes a dust bag

Grade 3

Height: 8.75 in (22 cm); with handle: 14.25 in (36 cm)

Width: 11.5 in (29 cm) (base)

Rs 3,00,000 ‒ 5,00,000

$ 4,290 ‒ 7,145

HERMÈS

The French luxury goods manufacturer Hermès, sometimes referred to as Hermès of Paris, is one of the most iconic brands

in the world of luxury. Consistently ranked as the world’s most sought‒after and valuable brand, Hèrmes offers a wide

range of products, from bags and luggage, to fashion accessories, jewellery and watches. “A combination of rich heritage,

exquisite craftsmanship, eye for detail and high levels of quality and professionalism through the entire manufacturing

process gives Hermès a position of superiority in the very competitive and ruthless world of luxury.” (“Hermès – The

Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand,”

MartinRoll.com

, September 2018, online)

Founded in 1837 by Thierry Hèrmes as a harness workshop in Paris, the company was originally created to provide

equestrian supplies such as saddles, bridles and leather riding equipment to European noblemen. After Thierry’s death,

the company was passed down to his son Charles‒Émile who moved the company to 24 Rue Du Faubourg Saint‒Honore

in Paris, where it remains to this day, serving as the company’s flagship store and global headquarters.

At the turn of the 20

century, the family started to venture into fashion, when Adolphe and Emile‒Maurice Hermès

took over the business and started selling the ‘Haut à Courroies’ bag, which was designed for riders to carry their saddles

in it. Realising that travel was evolving and adapting to locomotive transport, they began manufacturing trunks, bags,

and overnight cases, all from the family's signature saddle leather. The first leather handbag was manufactured in the

1920s, after Emile‒Maurice’s wife complained that she could not find a handbag she liked. Around the same time, Emile‒

Maurice spotted the “zip” during his travels, and inspired by it, created the revolutionary Hèrmes patented zipper. In the

early 1950s, the company introduced the famous “duc‒carriage‒with‒a‒horse” logo, based on a drawing by the French

painter Alfred de Dreux and their iconic orange boxes.

Over the decades, the various lines of Hèrmes bags have proved to be a global success, many of which enjoy iconic “must‒

have” status in fashion and pop culture. These include the leather Sac à Dépêches, which was renamed as the ‘Kelly’ bag

after Hollywood star and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly held it as a shield against the paparazzi in 1956. Created by

Robert Dumas as a small, functional bag with straps, the bag is designed in a trapezoid shape with two triangular gussets,

a sculpted flap, a handle, and good storage space. This auction offers three iconic Kelly bags (lots 26, 28 and 30) on sale.

The crème de la crème of the Hèrmes line of bags is the ‘Birkin.’ It was introduced in 1983, when then CEO Jean‒Louis

Dumas met the actress and singer Jane Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. The actress reportedly tried to fit her bag

in the overhead compartment, sending its contents spilling out. “Jane complained to her seatmate that it was impossible

to find a weekend bag she liked. Dumas introduced himself as the head of Hermès, and the pair spent the flight sketching

possible handbag designs on the back of an airplane sick bag. A year later, Dumas presented Jane with the Birkin bag, a

spacious yet sophisticated leather design perfect for everyday use.” (Jack Houston, Irene Kim,

, 13 June

2019, online) Each Birkin bag is hand‒sewn, buffed, painted, and polished, can take several days to finish. A single Birkin

bag can cost between $40,000 to $500,000, and the waitlist to buy one was reputed to be almost six years. This auction

offers three exquisite Birkin bags (lots 16, 24 and 25) on sale.