Twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend, so now that we've found a fourth Hermes Birkin covered in graffiti, I find myself pretty comfortable saying that defiling the iconic bag with pain, indicators and pencils is formally
a thing. The latest graffiti'd Birkin comes courtesy of street-art duo Mint & Serf, also known as The Mirf, who have been commissioned by Jeff Kain to customize a while leather Birkin that she bought for his wife Lynn Ban (you might be familiar with her jewelry line). That's hot on the heels of Moda Operandi's marked-up Birkin, plus self-styled versions by both Lady Gaga and Nicola Formichetti. Of the four different Birkin-customization techniques we've seen, this one should be the most clearly graffiti-inspired. Or perhaps "inspired" isn't the word -- it's straight-up covered in
Replica Hermes the stuff, and the commissioned work cost several thousand dollars alone, according to the
Daily Mail. On the other hand, Moda Operandi's version is the most sophisticated and traditionally beautiful of the customizations, and both Gaga and Formichetti went to town in their own personal ways. The common place, though, is the Hermes Birkin. No other bag has had art projects performed on it so fervently, and the reason why people adore to mark it up is probably similar to why Francesca Eastwood decided to set one on fire last year -- there's something undeniably attractive about the chance to subvert an image. If you live in or have traveled to a place where Birkins are very commonly carried, you probably know that there's normally a look associated with them -- upper-crust women who are prim and put-together, even when headed to a spin class. (Perhaps particularly when headed to a spin class. )#) That image of decorum and benefit, with the extravagant price of an Hermes Birkin and its tailored, traditional look, have turned the bag into an easily identifiable totem of profligate wealth, which is currently a fashionable thing to decline. Nominally, anyway -- you've still got to have that wealth in order to acquire a Birkin to destroy in the first place. Or "customize. inch Whichever way you would like to find it. I'm still uncertain which word I'd use.
