‘The Birkin Is Dead’: Rich Women Furious at Influencers for Turning the Iconic Bag Into a Joke

The iconic Hermès Birkin, once considered the ultimate symbol of status and impeccable taste, has fallen victim to TikTok. Wealthy fans of the brand are convinced that influencers have finally “killed” the Birkin, turning it into a prop for selfies, unboxings and shameless displays of wealth, The Cut reports.

It all started with a grey Hermès Birkin 30 that a woman at a Solidcore studio spotted tucked underneath a Pilates machine.

For 35-year-old Tanya, who owns four Birkins and 25 Hermès bags in total, it was the final straw.

“I turned into Heath Ledger’s Joker. I wanted to teach someone a lesson,” admits the beauty journalist.

She picked up a bottle of turmeric juice and slowly moved it toward the bag. The Birkin’s owner — a woman in her early twenties wearing a pale-pink workout set — screamed in horror and knocked the bottle away.

The bag was unharmed.

“Birkin used to mean you had money and taste. Now it means you have a ring light and no original thoughts of your own,” she declares.

Tanya admits that what she did was undeniably petty. But, she says, the problem runs much deeper: the Birkin has become too ubiquitous.

The bag, which can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $300,000 depending on the model, size and year, now regularly appears in the hands of young influencers.

Alix Earle casually carries her Birkin HAC 45 with Alo leggings while filming mirror selfies. Former Goldman Sachs employee-turned-influencer Danielle Falung turns trips to Hermès into TikTok content. New York influencers Hallie Kate and Jazmine Smith show off Birkin purchases made in Japan and talk about their collections of 10 bags.

To longtime Hermès devotees, this is where the beginning of the end lies.

“This is a tragic obituary for a poor bag,” Tanya says. “What was once a mysterious and coveted status symbol died after a long battle with content creation.”

A new diagnosis has even emerged online: “The Birkin is dead.”

On Reddit, users discuss how influencers have turned the iconic handbag into yet another mass-market trend.

“They did to the Birkin what they once did to avocado toast,” Tanya says. “They took something perfectly respectable, made it ubiquitous — and eventually everyone got sick of it.”

And the problem does appear to be real.

Today, the Birkin has become much more accessible — at least in the world of social media.

In April, designer handbag rental service Vivrelle launched a private program allowing members to borrow a Birkin for $800 a month.

In May, Phia, the startup founded by Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates, held a Birkin giveaway, with the prize bag purchased on the secondhand market.

Then came the counterfeit craze.

Walmart sells the famous “Wirkin” — a cheap Birkin lookalike priced at around $80. At the same time, the retailer’s website also offers genuine pre-owned Hermès bags starting at $17,000.

And in the summer of 2026, the unexpected hit was the Jelly Firkin — a PVC plastic bag that openly parodies the Birkin.

But that’s not all.

Entire online communities now exist where users discuss counterfeit Birkins and share ways to find replicas that are almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing.

Twenty-eight-year-old Megan, a luxury fashion collector, recalls a trip to Shenzhen, where warehouses are filled with thousands of bags that look remarkably similar to genuine pre-owned Birkins.

“Resellers specifically fly to China to get there, buy the bags and then resell them with markups of 60 to 100 percent,” she claims.

For Hermès devotees, this is no longer simply a matter of taste. They see it as an insult to the very heritage of the brand.

Especially when you consider Jane Birkin — the woman whose name became synonymous with one of the world’s most coveted handbags.

“Jane Birkin rejected the endless cycle of consumption. She wore her clothes again and again and bought vintage pieces,” Megan says.

Other fans believe influencers simply do not understand what makes the Birkin valuable in the first place.

“They want a Birkin because they know it will earn them respect online, not because they’re genuinely interested in the craftsmanship behind each bag,” says Emily, a 29-year-old art historian specializing in jewelry.

And that, critics argue, is precisely why the Birkin’s magic is disappearing.

Once, you might see the bag on a glamorous woman at a society lunch or as she stepped out of a taxi near the dry cleaner.

“The bag was part of her life. That was the luxury,” Emily explains.

Now, the Birkin is associated with a 23-year-old woman who brings it to a wedding seemingly for the sole purpose of telling everyone:

“I can afford this — please, pay attention!”

“We’ve lost the magic that originally made this bag interesting,” Emily says.

Especially when the Birkin is no longer being used for its intended purpose.

Jane Birkin really did carry books and baby bottles in hers. The Olsen sisters could take their Birkins to the gym without worrying about the bags losing their pristine appearance.

Now, many people buy them specifically so they will look perfect on camera.

“If someone isn’t using a Birkin the way it was originally intended — to carry a horse bridle, a sandwich or a sweater — it’s just an expensive cry for help,” Tanya quips.

Does the iconic handbag have a chance at a second life?

Tanya doesn’t think it will happen anytime soon.

“My future children will inherit my Birkins. And by then, they’ll be completely worn out.”

Outside TikTok and the most cutting corners of Reddit, however, the picture looks very different.

In cities far removed from the world’s fashion capitals, the Birkin remains a symbol of luxury.

One Reddit user, commenting on the influence of influencers, admitted: “I’m not an influencer and I love my baby. She makes me feel chic when, on a rare day off, I have a daytime drink.”

Alongside the comment, she posted photos of her taupe mini Birkin, a pink cocktail and an espresso martini.

So perhaps the problem isn’t the Birkin at all.

Perhaps the iconic bag simply needs what all of us could use a little more of these days — some silence and a lot less social media.