Birkin bag

The Birkin bag ntroduced in 1984 by the French luxury goods maker Hermès.

In 1984, somewhere above the English Channel on an Air France flight from Paris to London, the idea of the Birkin bag was born. As actress Jane Birkin — star of ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Blowup’ — stuffed her trademark wicker basket bag into the overhead compartment, the contents spilled out onto the seat and aisle below. As if by fate (and a chance upgrade to First Class), Birkin found herself sitting next to the executive chairman of HERMÈS at the time, Jean-Louis Dumas. After a lengthy discussion about her ideal design and Dumas’ recommendation of pockets, the English actress scribbled out a sketch of what would become the iconic Birkin. Her request? Bigger than the Kelly bag but smaller than Serge Gainsbourg’s suitcase (also HERMÈS, naturally).

The bag quickly became a symbol of wealth and exclusivity due to its high price and assumed long waiting lists. The bag's value is a matter of its intentionally high price, which has led to its being described as a Veblen good.