Last night I found myself, in the first week of August, sensing a hint of autumn in the air. Rather than gnashing my teeth at the prospect of the summer slipping away, I took the opportunity to watch an episode of Gilmore Girls (which, legally, you can only do in autumn), and was reminded of the totally deranged storyline in which a teenage Rory is given a Birkin by an equally teenage Logan Huntzberger. While I am willing to suspend disbelief up to a point, even I have my limits, and I’m thrown off by this bizarre exercise in gift-giving each time a clip pops up on my timeline. But personal gripes aside, one thing they did get right is the awe that surrounded the accessory. (Lest we forget Rory’s alarmed grandmother chirping: “That is a very nice bag.”)
It’s been a big year for the Birkin: recently, the world’s most obsessive second-hand shoppers came together to witness the sale of Jane Birkin’s original Hermès creation (it fetched a cool $10.1 million). Which feels like a fitting moment to consider how a bag as valuable as a Birkin should be treated (chucked around, possibly even run over, if you are an Olsen?)
The latest celeb apparently putting her trophy accessory through the wringer? Supermodel Kate Moss, whose party girl credentials perhaps put her at odds with the dust bag and box approach to designer shopping. Currently summering in Ibiza, Moss swerved the traditional basket bag in favor of a calfskin Hermès top handle that could cover the cost of a fortnight’s all-inclusive—and then some.
Spacious enough for a bottle of water and some books, an Hermès Kelly is perhaps a natural choice for a day at the beach…when you’re a legendary supermodel. Further adding to the incongruity of it all, Moss also brought out a useless belt. Slung around her waist over some bikini briefs and a characteristically boho blouse, Moss’s belt was a nostalgic nod to her noughties Glastonbury wardrobe.
I don’t know about you, but this level of unrelatable glamour is what I want from a fashion icon–the sort of uncompromising, impractical approach that Ab Fab’s Edina Monsoon promised us. Personally, I believe an Hermès handbag covered in sand is a far less offensive sight than one with a small army of Labubus attached. But each to their own.