London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The Birkin Bag Has Become a Canvas for Conceptual Art

The Birkin Bag Has Become a Canvas for Conceptual Art

The infamously-expensive handbag is a favorite subject of sculptures and painters alike


The most expensive handbag of all time, the Birkin, which Hermès named after Jane Birkin when the fashion house introduced it in 1984, is the definition of a status symbol for many people. For others, the cost (starting at four figures and reaching as high as six) represents all that is wrong with society. Everyone seems to agree that to destroy one is an affront to decency, either being perceived as “wrecking” an object of beauty, or being tone-deaf to the plight of the common people.

Many were up in arms when Kate Moss used hers as a diaper bag. And when Lady Gaga “ruined” hers by having a fan write on it in Sharpie. And, again, when Kanye West had George Condo paint on one for Kim Kardashian. Of course nothing drew people’s ire more than Tyler Shields, who notably paid $100,000 for a red crocodile-skin Birkin only to destroy it in the name of art. These reactions to the ways in which the luxury bag has been subverted seem to only pique artists' interest.



It is this reverence to an object that stone sculptor Barbara Ségal, whose work Rihanna posted on Instagram earlier this week, began exploring through hyper-realistic stone replicas of the bags. Ségal’s Cathedral Candy and Designer Handbag series work to discuss our obsession with status symbols, while drawing comparisons to the worship of religious icons.

“I'm bringing attention to the fact of how important this symbol is in current civilization, in current society. Idols were made from stone, and this is an idol,” she said last January. “...Basically, the Birkin is the epitome of an ultra-luxury accessories. When you walk out on the street with a Birkin on your hand it's sort of like a declaration of power, right?” This idea of power is perhaps what gets people so angry. To own an object of power is one thing. To destroy one is a whole other declaration.

Commenting on society’s focus on money and need to spend it also seems to be a factor of interest, and the handbag certainly is an easy target to modify. When speaking about his Kardashian-rendition in 2014, Condo explained that he knew her fan base would be angered. “The whole point was to take an icon of consumerism and change it, which is like blasphemy,” he said. “You can’t do this! It short circuits people’s concept of what’s untouchable, which is why it was fun to do.”

Of course, there are other ways of challenging the value of the object. In 2014 pop artist (and noted handbag aficionado) Jeff Koons collaborated with his friend Svetlana Kuzmicheva-Uspenskaya on a project for her charity Project Perpetual, in which he incorporated Birkins donated by the likes of Marc Jacobs into his artwork. He even sold off some of the donated bags as individual objects, thereby changing their nature. Were they still bag, or now art? Or, similar to Condo’s work, a bit of both?



Between shock value (Shields), emulation (Ségal), distortion (Condo, and the many artists who have painted on bags), or re-contextualization (Koons), the Birkin bag’s sustained identity as the most luxurious “it” bag in the world, as well as its staggering price tag, has also ensured that it will be a lightning rod for commentary from the art world.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×