There’s one sign that points at Melania’s outrageous wealth, and it’s the way in which she carries her bag. As pointed out by the WGACA buyer, the Birkin is known for having a complex flap system that’s held together with a lock, meaning opening and closing it can be kind of complicated. Melania, however, always carries her Birkins with the flap completely open. Casual.
The bag is currently in fashion as a symbol of wealth due to its high price and use by celebrities. Birkins are the most popular bag with handbag collectors, and Victoria Beckham owns over 100 of them.
For a brand-new bag straight from the Hermès store, you’ll likely pay around 9 million, with the ballpark average being 12 million. Prices vary depending on the country it’s sold in
At the end of the day, the Birkin is the ultimate symbol of status, a suggestion of power, and something that reminds Americans and the foreign diplomats she’s visiting that yes, she defines l-u-x-u-r-y.
First Lady Melania Trump has a soft spot for the finer things in life. Whereas first ladies before her may have chosen to mix high and low brands while in office (Michelle Obama was celebrated for repping relatable brands like J.Crew, though she knew how to rock Versace, too).
That said, there’s no greater marker of opulent and lavish taste than the Hermès Birkin, the handbag that Trump has proudly wielded since Donald took office. First released in 1984, the bag was developed following a chance encounter on an airplane between then-Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas and actress and style icon Jane Birkin, who bemoaned the lack of a practical, yet still bohemian bag. Thus, the Birkin was born.
Since its release, the bag has been in high demand, but the French fashion house doesn’t share how many Birkin bags it produces each year, and trying to nail down exactly how much any one can cost is complicated. One cannot simply walk into an Hermès boutique and ask to buy a Birkin.