Jane Birkin poses in this 1985 file picture. The style icon died at 76, announced on July 16. Photo: AFP
Jane Birkin was an actress and singer, but more importantly, she remained a style legend until the very end of her life. Few in the fashion industry will ever forget her name.
Tributes have poured in since her death was announced on July 16. She was 76 years old.
French president Emmanuel Macron was one of the first to comment on her passing, saying: “Jane Birkin was a French icon.”
To note, Jane is British-born, but she has gone on to represent the best of "Parisienne chic".
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Her love for T-shirt and jeans, as well as mini dresses, have come to define what is now known as a style that embodies effortless sophistication.
When Jane adopted masculine tailoring, she was hailed as a frontrunner in women's fashion as well.
That said, it is perhaps her association with one of the world's most famous bags that will ensure she is not forgotten within the style scene.
The Birkin bag is not just her namesake, she inspired it.
As the story goes, Jane was travelling on a flight from Paris to London in 1984. She was seated beside Hermes chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas at that time.
When contents fell out of the straw bag she was carrying, Dumas assisted her.
It was then that Jane lamented about the difficulties in finding a spacious, secure and stylish bag she likes.
Jane Birkin at the photo call for the film 'Jane By Charlotte' at the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes in 2021. Photo: AP
Dumas, taking the feedback into consideration, drew the very first sketches of the Birkin bag on the very same flight’s sickness bag. Hermes thus named one of its handbags after her, which is now a sought-after status symbol.
In the later years however, Jane went to say that she rarely uses the famous handbag that bears her name.
In a 2017 story, the BBC reported Jane as saying that the bags have been "useful" over the years because she has sold them and donated the money to the charities she supports, including Amnesty International.
Back in 2015, she asked Hermes to rename the crocodile Birkin bag after learning of disturbing practices in its production. Jane and Hermes eventually resolved their differences over it.
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Known for being a style icon, Jane however has only collaborated with one fashion designer – APC’s Jean Touitou.
Unveiled last year, the collection comprised everyday chic essentials: loose-neck T-shirts, cashmere sweaters, oversized coats and more.
“Jane Birkin knows how to dress. This becomes obvious when you talk to her. She also knows how to give a very literary dimension to her attraction to this material or that shape," read the statement by Touitou, released upon the launch.
