Hermès’ Birkin bag has long been seen as a mark of success, wealth, style and taste, as styled by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. But as content about Birkin bags has risen, the tide is turning on these famous purses.
#Birkin has 206,000 posts on TikTok, where people share unboxing videos, tips for securing the exclusive bag and styling videos. The online popularity of the Birkin means that it’s now become a meme, with Duolingo spoofing it for its latest campaign about how to pronounce luxury brand names. Jellycat also has its own Birkin-style plushie. Singer Role Model long joked about how he dreamed of owning one, and later revealed he had secured the bag. He later said he thinks the bag is ugly and wants to sell his, which was a gift.
Is the Birkin bag bad taste? The Cut has deemed that influencers have killed the Birkin – but really, it’s that social media and pop culture as a whole have oversaturated the conversation about the purse.
CORQ’s trends editor Caroline Edwards breaks down the rise and fall of the Birkin on socials.
@corq.studio Is the Birkin bag losing its cult status and becoming bad taste? The tide is turning on the Hermés bag as it becomes memed and promoted by people like Role Model and Maura Higgins, while @Duolingo has spoofed it and @Jellycat released Birkin-style plushies. Are influencers and social media to blame? #birkin #birkinbag #hermes #luxuryfashion
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