The Other "Birkin" : Jane Birkin's Own Iconic Bag Goes Under the Hammer
A Singular Bag, Entrusted to Her “Angel Gabrielle”
Jane Birkin gave several of her bags to charity over the years, but she never parted with the one she cherished most. Instead, she placed it in the safekeeping of her lifelong confidante Gabrielle — her “Angel Gabrielle”.
The bag still carries the traces of Birkin’s life and causes, in the form of the charms and trinkets that dangle from its handles. As Crawford recalls, Jane’s bag “became a kind of travelling storeroom. Gifts from all over the world were tied to the handles — bells, Japanese lucky charms… It weighed a ton. But they were inseparable. She never left it behind.”
How the Birkin Came to Be
The creation story of the Birkin bag has entered fashion folklore. On a flight — unaware that she was sitting beside Jean-Louis Dumas, then Chairman of Hermès — Birkin tipped out the wicker basket she was using as a handbag, grumbling that Hermès didn’t make anything large enough. That chance encounter inspired the first Birkin bag, unveiled in 1984.
From the meeting of a British “ex-fan des sixties” and French luxury emerged one of the most recognisable symbols of modern elegance.
Four decades on, the Birkin remains the crown jewel of Hermès, coveted by collectors and fashion lovers worldwide. And as Crawford notes in her biography, Birkin herself was “captivated by the precision and craftsmanship required to make such a treasured object” during her visits to the Hermès workshops.
But this particular bag is more than a fashion icon: it is the witness to a friendship spanning nearly sixty years.
The Je t’aime moi non plus Typescript
Released in 1976, Serge Gainsbourg’s Je t’aime moi non plus — a romantic drama starring Jane Birkin and Joe Dallesandro — scandalised some audiences at the time. Today, it stands as a cult classic and a vivid expression of one of the most magnetic artistic partnerships of the late 20th century.
The original typescript offered in this sale is a rare working document. It reveals how Gainsbourg shaped the film as a reflection of his intense, shifting bond with Birkin — a relationship oscillating constantly between desire and distance, unity and rupture.
His handwritten notes are mainly dialogue revisions (crossings-out, added words or lines), always in English and in capital letters. Birkin’s handwriting appears beside them in French, translating certain passages.
Gabrielle Crawford: Custodian of a Life
Gabrielle Crawford first met Jane Birkin in London in 1964. From then on, the two Englishwomen lived between Britain and France, nurturing a friendship that remained rock-solid for six decades.
A professional photographer, Crawford became Birkin’s quiet shadow — on tour, on stage, on film sets — capturing her vitality, her humour, and that unmistakable spark.
She would go on to devote two portraits to her friend: the documentary Je t’aime, Jane (2002) and the 2024 book C’est Jane, Birkin Jane (Actes Sud).
It is in tribute to their shared life — its joys, its chaos, its adventures — that Gabrielle has chosen to part with these personal treasures, ensuring that Birkin’s philanthropic work can continue. Throughout her life, the Franco-British artist was deeply committed to humanitarian causes, travelling to communities devastated by natural disasters (Japan) and war (Kosovo, Gaza), and campaigning for the liberation of Aung San Suu Kyi.
All quotations are from Gabrielle Crawford, C’est Jane, Birkin Jane, Actes Sud, 2024.
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