The original Birkin bag sold for a record €8.58 million ($10 million) at auction, showing demand remains robust for unique luxury collectibles.

A prototype Hermès Birkin bag once owned by British-French singer and actress Jane Birkin has sold for $10.1 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris. The sale marks the highest price ever paid for a handbag at auction.

And that is what late actor and singer Jane Birkin achieved with her fruitful Hermès collaboration dating back to 1984 — a crossover that mind you, was the result of a chance encounter between her and Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight,