A video posted on TikTok, featuring a man making a replica of a Hermes Birkin bag for his girlfriend has gone viral.
Alexander Sway, a realtor from Washington, decided to make the famous bag himself after realising he couldn’t afford the real one to gift to his girlfriend on their anniversary.
The two videos, titled Handmaking A Birkin For My Girlfriend, have been viewed more than 36 million times. Sway, 32, says he used templates he found online and leather from a local store.
“My girlfriend always jokes that she wants a luxury bag from Hermes as an anniversary gift,” he said in the first video. “When I looked online at the price of a Birkin, I couldn’t believe it. $100,000 for a bag is crazy, but what was even crazier was instead of paying, I decided to surprise her and make my own.”
Saying that he thought making the bag was “going to be pretty simple”, Sway spent 60 hours putting together the gift using blueprints he found online.
He bought the materials from a local leather store, spending $60 on a sheet of black-dyed crocodile leather after admitting he “was not able to find leather that luxury companies use”, and $360 on tools.
“I thought it was going to be as simple as cutting shapes out and assembling pieces, but right off the bat I made some rookie mistakes and wasted a bunch of good leather,” Sway said. “I finally understand why luxury companies charge so much for these handbags.”
Sway said the hardest part of making the bag was the sewing.
“This is very challenging,” he said, “because every hole had to be hand-punched and sometimes the holes had to be punched twice because of how thick the leather was.” He said his fingers went numb during the process.
What is Hermes Birkin Bag?
The Hermes Birkin bag is a highly coveted luxury handbag that was created by the French fashion house Hermes. It was named after the actress and singer Jane Birkin and was first introduced in 1984. The Birkin bag is known for its exquisite craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and iconic design.
The price of a Birkin bag varies depending on factors such as the size, material, and rarity of the bag. The starting price for a basic Birkin bag in the United States was around $9,000 to $10,000. However, it’s important to note that Birkin bags often have long waiting lists, and the most sought-after designs or limited editions can command much higher prices in the secondary market due to their exclusivity and rarity.
