Editorial 
Writing

Dior fashion show autumn/ winter 2023

How can a handbag have such a great influence on fashion and culture? Let me tell you why. Firstly, it’s made by Hemès, a brand which can be congratulated on their craftsmanship and attention to detail. Every bag is handmade and hand stitched, meaning the details will never be symmetrical, adding a taste of uniqueness for each individual product. The subject of Hermès bags has been the topic of many fashion conversations for decades. Most recently, it has been rapped about by Jay-Z and A$AP Rocky. It was mentioned multiple times in the TV series ‘Sex and the City’ and is even used as a canvas for artists such as Alec Monopoly to experiment their artistic visions. Hermès are the A-list celebrity’s favourite status symbol. It flaunts their success and money, showcasing that the bags are not just a trend but a lifestyle. Due to the simple factor of exclusivity, the prices of the Birkin have increased over the years. The bag is not ‘just for anyone’, it's for the elite. When holding a Birkin on your arm it represents power, status and wealth. Originally created for practicality, inspired by the singer and actress, Jane Birkin, owners of this bag tend to use it as an accessory to enhance an outfit or portray a status since they are very hard to purchase and can be very (very) expensive, evidenced from the line in ‘Sex and the City’ - “5 years” “for a bag?” “it's not a bag, it's a Birkin”. The physical appearance can be quite simple, with two rolled handles, a flap top, clou and a lock closure. The story of how Jane Birkin came to have a bag named after her is legendary. It is said she influenced the CEO, at the time Jean-Louis Dumas, who was on the same flight from Paris to London in 1984. Jane mentioned that she desperately needed a stylish yet functional bag and this drew inspiration to create what is now the world's most wanted bag. The price tag originally was £2,000 and over the years this has risen to £10,000 and upwards to £100,000, however purchasing a Birkin can be viewed as an investment. In fact, it’s better than investing in the stock market since the profit will and has undoubtedly increase over the years. For example, REBAG stated that the 25cm Togo Birkin Retail Price increased 46% from 2009-2019. At a guaranteed 50% increase this is a profit worth investing in. The main factor for these bags being so exclusive is that they are not offered to just anyone, sales associates choose whether to offer bags to customers depending on multiple factors, one of them being if they have built up brand loyalty in the past. You then create a wishlist of which items you wish to purchase in the future, and I say future because this can take up to 6 years! 

There are other cases where you can purchase through a concierge service. For my first interview I chose my own mother who used ‘Quintessentially gifts’. It took ten days of waiting to get her desired Birkin bag - a 35cm Gold Togo leather with silver hardware. The Birkin was a gift from her husband and something she had dreamed about for a while. So when she was sent her gift, the feeling of euphoria and total excitement took over. Over the years, in her own words, my mother tells me that her Birkin adds a “touch of luxury to casual outfits… it makes me feel more put together.” She adds how she has never felt uncomfortable or scared when carrying her Birkin but she is protective of it when she’s in certain areas as she could draw unnecessary attention to herself. I asked her to compare all of her bags with her Birkin and she stated that her Birkin is less convenient because of the two handles, meaning the bag tends to stay open which is not good for safety reasons. It is also heavy and loses its shape. She believes the bag has lost its shape over the years because “the housekeeper often pushed and scrunched the bag at the back of her wardrobe when cleaning because she didn't understand the value and price of such a bag.” When she got other bags she eventually showed the housekeeper how to help “keep their desired shape”. 

The next person to be interviewed is a woman named Valentina. She waited just three months for her Birkin. In order to build up a relationship with her sales associate she had to purchase smaller items such as a pair of boots, scarves, bracelets, a belt and a pair of gloves. She was then invited to the store in Porto Cervo to take a look at the bags on her wishlist - but the one she wanted the most was the classic 25cm Gold Togo Birkin with silver hardware. How does she feel when she is holding the Birkin? Does she feel as powerful and elegant as the stereotype dictates it makes you feel? Of course. She feels special because not everyone in the world can own such a bag. 

To bring a completely different angle in praise of the Birkin, the final person I interviewed is named Elie. She was gifted her 35cm Pate Orange Ostrich skin Birkin with silver hardware for her 18th birthday present. Unlike most girls Elie was not as enthusiastic about this bag. In fact, she has only worn her Birkin twice in the presence of her grandma who gifted it to her. She said of course it was a blessing to be this lucky but she didn’t look at it as something to wear but more of an investment. She is smart! In her own words Elie feels “stupid, entitled and snobby” when wearing the bag, saying she is totally detached from it.

I wanted to get deeper into why she does not enjoy owning such a wanted item and she started talking about how it makes her a target. “Imagine just wearing a bag and there's a possibility of all that money being stolen in one second and potential danger for myself,” she tells me. “Why would I put myself through that just to prove that I have status and wealth… it's not necessary”. Since she has no love or care for the bag I thought it was right to ask her how she looks after the bag when not in use, and I got a very different answer than what I expected. “I shove it in my brother's old backpack and place the backpack in his wardrobe to make more space in mine.” Since she has no love for the Birkin I asked if she had any other bags from Hermès and to my surprise she owns an Evelyne bag. This is used as her everyday bag because it is more practical. I was confused as to why she loved this bag so much and not the Birkin and her reasoning was that her Evelyne bag is “very understated, simple and not everyone knows where it's from.” As she says, “if you know you know”.