The Resale Edit: The Birkin bag...An indicator of the evolving customer shifts in retail

W. David Marx, author of the book Status and Culture was highlighted In a New York Times Style piece this week, on the evolving status symbol of luxury goods. According to Marx, “Someone carrying a beat-up Hermès bag suggests they are not simply wearing it because of its label. I don’t even care if it gets beat up, because I’m not using this for status marking.”

As the article points out, the growing resale market has made these once highly exclusive pieces available to those without multi-generation wealth and that is altering their use of self-expression. What used to be stored in a closet to maintain pristine condition is increasingly being used in the real world. The Hermes Birkin is famously said to be inspired when actress Jane Birkin complained about needing a bag to carry around small toys for her young children.

Now celebrities and social influencers are showing off the “real world” wear in their Birkins and Kellys. The bags have not changed but the way they are used and what it says about those wearing them are always changing. We won’t know for years if this is part of a larger shift in culture but it would be reasonable to assume that celebrating wear not hiding it, will be a natural evolution of more accessible brands and quality items.

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