Style queen Lauren Sanchez lost a $10.1 million bid for Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin handbag. Lauren is the newlywed wife of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Lauren has money for days – but she was outbid for the “Mother of All It Bags” on Thursday.
Jane Birkin’s very first Hermès handbag sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s Auction house in Paris, France on Thursday.
The winning bid broke the record for the most expensive designer handbag ever sold at auction.
Hermès gifted four Birkin bags to British and French actress, singer, and designer Jane Birkin. Her very first Birkin is the one that sold at auction on Thursday.
Jane donated her first Hermès bag in 1994 to a charity for HIV/AIDS research. She died in Paris in 2023 at age 76.
The world’s wealthiest socialites and collectors gathered at Sotheby’s in person to submit their bids. Others, including American socialite Kim Kardashian, submitted their bids over the phone.
The auction sparked a telephone bidding war. The bidding opened at over $1 million, “prompting a gasp from the room,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
Lauren, 55, entered her final bid at $10 million. An unknown Japanese buyer with deep pockets bested Lauren with a bid of $10.1 million.
The previous record for a handbag sold at auction was $513,000 for a diamond-encrusted crocodile Hermès Kelly. That bag sold at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong in 2021.
Regular Birkins usually retail for $10,000 and up.
Lauren was seen carrying a personalized Balenciaga Coffee Cup Clutch while lunching with friends in Paris on July 9. She had just recently married her longtime boyfriend Jeff Bezos in a splashy $50 million wedding.
The Balenciaga Coffee Cup Clutch retails for $5,739 at select stores.
Watch the Sotheby’s auction below.
