The first-ever Birkin bag that was designed by French luxury brand Hermes for actress Jane Birkin is set to be sold at auction in Paris, with the piece of modern fashion history likely to spark a bidding frenzy.

The Birkin has become a modern design icon that is so exclusive that Hermes only offers it to loyal clients, with prices starting at around $10,000.

Auction house Sotheby's, which is handling the sale of the Birkin prototype in Paris on July 10, declined to specify a reserve price publicly and its value is hard to forecast.

"The Original Birkin holds the potential to redefine records," Morgane Halimi, Sotheby's global handbag and fashion head, said in a statement.

The previous record sale price for a handbag at auction was set by a highly customised Birkin in Hong Kong in 2017.

The diamond-encrusted crocodile-skin Birkin 30 with white gold details fetched $510,000 at Christie's.

The seller of the original Birkin is well-known Paris-based handbag collector and dealer Catherine Benier whose appointment-only boutique in the high-end 6th district of the capital has a cult following. 

Benier told The New York Times that the bag was the "jewel in my collection".

It has changed hands twice since being put up for sale by Birkin at an auction in 1994 where the proceeds went to an AIDS charity, Sotheby's said.

A record-setting sale price for the prototype would be in keeping with the fashion world's recent flashy aesthetics.

After years of so-called "quiet luxury" dominating catwalks, designers have embraced more ostentatious looks in recent seasons that have been dubbed "boom boom" by some trend forecasters.

Celebrity fans

The birth of the Birkin bag has become a modern fashion legend. 

During a Paris–London flight, the singer and actress -- who died in 2023 -- complained to a fellow traveller about not being able to find a bag suited to her needs as a young mother.

That fellow passenger happened to be Jean-Louis Dumas, then head of Hermes. 

The result of their conversation was a spacious tote with room for baby bottles, created in 1984 and named the Birkin.

It is engraved with the initials J.B. and has several unique features, Sotheby's said, including closed metal rings, a non-detachable shoulder strap and a built-in nail clipper.

Its condition "reflects the many years of use by the actress and singer," Sotheby's said. 

A slightly differently sized version of the original has become the flagship product of the immensely profitable family-owned luxury French leather goods maker ever since. 

Produced in very limited numbers, the bag has maintained an aura of exclusivity and is beloved by celebrities from Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez to Victoria Beckham.

Frustrated fashionistas in America even sued Hermes in a class-action suit in California last year after they were refused access to the bags.

Birkin also had a sometimes strained relationship with Hermes, once threatening to take her name off the bags because of the group's treatment of crocodiles whose skins are used for its products.

The former wife of French singing legend Serge Gainsbourg championed a host of causes, including animal rights.

The prototype Birkin will be exhibited at Sotheby's in New York from June 6 to 12 before being put on show in the French capital before the sale.

In addition to the Birkin bag, the Sotheby's "Fashion Icons" sale will feature runway pieces from designers including Christian Dior, John Galliano, Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen. 

Bidding will open online on June 26 and close on July 10.