Auction introduction: This summer, Sotheby’s Handbags & Fashion department is proud to present its inaugural Paris-based Fashion Icons sale, taking place on 10 July 2025. The auction will feature the historic Original Hermès Birkin bag, created in 1984 in collaboration with Jane Birkin. This exceptional prototype, distinguished by seven unique design elements, represents the very genesis of the world’s most coveted handbag. The Original Birkin was exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art as part of the show Items : Is Fashion Modern ? in 2018 and again in 2020 at London's Victoria and Albert Museum as part of the exhibition Bags inside Out. The sale also offers a thoughtfully curated selection tracing the evolution of fashion from the 1950s to the 2010s. Highlights include iconic pieces from landmark couture collections by Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano and Azzedine Alaïa.