Dior Bag Bought for Just £80 at a Charity Shop Sells for Nearly £8,000 at Auction

A rare Christian Dior bag discovered by chance in a charity shop in the Cotswolds has sold at auction for an impressive £7,870, thanks to its exceptional collector’s value.

An eagle-eyed shopper spotted a Christian Dior Saddle Bag at a local charity shop. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, paid around £80 for it because she liked the design, but had no idea whether it was genuine or a counterfeit.

To establish the accessory’s origins, she took it to an auction house. Experts determined that it was a rare limited-edition Christian Dior Koi Saddle Bag, created by John Galliano for the brand’s Fall/Winter 2003 collection show.

British designer John Galliano, known for his bold and experimental creations, served as Christian Dior’s creative director from 1996 to 2011.

The bag was initially estimated at £800–£1,200, but fierce bidding broke out at Kinghams auction house in Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds. The lot eventually sold for £7,870 — nearly ten times the top end of its original estimate.

A Kinghams representative said the bag was produced in extremely limited numbers and is now considered a true “Holy Grail” among luxury handbag collectors.

Sophie Osborne, the auction house’s designer fashion specialist, described the sale as one of the highlights of the year.

“For me, this was the auction of the year. To discover that the seller had found such a rare Dior/Galliano bag in a charity shop was incredible — it may be the most remarkable find of my career. And seeing the price it ultimately achieved under the hammer was one of the highlights of my work,” she said.