Jean-Paul Gaultier’s tenure at Hermes was a time of unmatched creativity. One of the French master’s most celebrated interpretations of the Birkin bag is the Shadow Birkin, a limited edition initially produced in 2009 and 2010 featuring the iconic Birkin design embossed onto smooth Swift leather and rendered into a open-top tote bag perfectly proportioned with the original creating an incredible effect: the hint of a Birkin. This past year Hermes has re-released an extremely limited number of these Shadow Birkins in 35cm. This example, in Black Swift leather, is in pristine store-fresh condition. The simple embossed clochette on the rear of the bag completes the design, along with snap-ended sangles that slide inside the front of the bag to allow for a bit of extra security. These bags hold a special place in Hermes collections, as they’re the only ‘Birkins’ that have a completely different structure from any other Birkin bags.
