Culture
Singer, actress, model and French style icon Jane Birkin has passed away at age 76. Take a look at her relationship with the iconic Birkin bag in her honor.
A flight from Paris to London in 1983 would change fashion history forever, when Jane sat next to Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas. Birkin was carrying a straw purse, and lamented that she couldn’t find a leather handbag that fit her style and needs.
Dumas and Birkin worked to imagine a design that would fit the bill — and the Birkin bag was born. More relaxed than the brand’s Kelly bag, the Birkin is one of the best investments any luxury fashion buyer could make.
The actress/singer who lent her name to the Birkin embraced the style throughout her life, and was often pictured overfilling it. She once joked: "They're heavy ... I'm going to have an operation for tendonitis in the shoulder."
A true fashion icon, whose effortlessly chic style still influences brands' creative decisions to this day, Birkin will be missed. But one thing's for sure, she will be remembered.