Watch live: Jane Birkin's original Hermès handbag goes up for auction at Sotheby's
Now one of the most coveted designer items of recent decades, the Birkin's origins stem from a flight from Paris to London.
While travelling, the British actor, who was sitting next to the French luxury fashion house's executive chairman Jean-Louis Dumas, complained that she couldn't find a bag suitable for her needs as a young mother.
Dumas sketched a rectangular holdall with a burnished flap and saddle stitching with a dedicated space for her baby's bottles.
He then had an example made for her, and Birkin agreed when Hermès asked whether the brand could commercialise the bag in her name.
The auction house said that the all-black leather prototype of the "legendary handbag" was handcrafted for Birkin.
The commercialised version is now one of the world's most exclusive bags, with an extravagant price tag and years-long waiting list.
It is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of euros at the sale.
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