"Boarding a flight in 1983, Jane Birkin found herself wrestling with the open straw basket into which she habitually crammed everything from playscripts to nappies. As she reached for the overhead locker the basket overturned, spilling the contents on her neighbour. He turned out to be the chief executive of Hermes, the French luxury goods company, and immediately offered to make her a bag with internal pockets and a secure closure. Birkin sketched what she wanted on a sick bag and The Birkin was born: a slouchy trapezoid in finest leather complete with its own little padlock."
"Birkin famously did not treat her Hermes bag with especial reverence, enthusiastically festooning it with charms, beads, stickers and ribbons. The trend for personalising your handbag with bits of tat was ubiquitous this summer, part of a wider revival of the Birkin aesthetic, comprising flared mid-wash jeans, peasanty cheesecloth blouses and ballet flats. You couldn't avoid it if you tried."
Jane Birkin inspired the creation of the Birkin bag after an airplane mishap in 1983 when a straw basket overturned and spilled its contents onto an Hermes executive. The resulting design featured internal pockets, a secure closure and a small padlock; modern Birkins start around £10,000 while the original sold at auction for £7.4m. Birkin displayed relaxed attitudes toward fame and possessions, customising her bag with charms, beads, stickers and ribbons. A wider revival of Birkin-influenced fashion surfaced, including flared mid-wash jeans, cheesecloth blouses and ballet flats. Attempts to secure testimony from close friends and family were largely unsuccessful, leaving few new revelations about her private circle.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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