With the original Hermès Birkin selling for €8.6m in Paris this July, we find out from vintage traders and collectors why designer second-hand fashion is booming and how you, too, could triple your money
Vintage designer bags from the likes of Dior and Chanel are making a comeback in fashion and reselling for thousands online. Image: Clare Meredith
In July, the sale of Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin for €8.6m at a Paris auction established it as by far the most expensive handbag of all time. “I was actually shocked it went for that amount,” says Ella de Guzman, founder of Siopaella consignment store. “If this bag was being sold in the second-hand market as just another preloved Birkin bag, it would have only traded hands for maybe €5,000 max given the condition that it was in. It was completely destroyed, yet because of its incredible history, its perceived value was crazy.”
For some, a handbag is more than an accessory, it’s an investment – just ask barrister Maria Steen whose vibrant blue Hermès Kelly bag recently made headlines closer to home.
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