--- title: Jane Birkin Asks Hermès to Take Her Name Off Bags description: Birkin bags — with their years-long wait lists, five-digit price tags and cult-like celebrity following — have long been considered a status symbol. Now the... canonical: https://time.com/3976322/jane-birkin-hermes-bags-peta/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-29T06:43:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:02.536Z og:title: Jane Birkin Asks Hermès to Take Her Name Off Bags og:description: Following an investigation conducted by PETA og:url: https://time.com/3976322/jane-birkin-hermes-bags-peta/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc62debf9b06cb053/69885cf2cd6848ef030a1046/475877100.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: FRANCE-HORTICULTURE-RIGHTS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jane Birkin Asks Hermès to Take Her Name Off Bags twitter:description: Following an investigation conducted by PETA twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc62debf9b06cb053/69885cf2cd6848ef030a1046/475877100.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jane Birkin Asks Hermès to Take Her Name Off Bags > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: Kanye West on Being The Robin Hood of Fashion [Watch (HLS stream): Kanye West on Being The Robin Hood of Fashion](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IiBgYdyR.m3u8) (2:56)  _Published 2015-04-16. The artist describes the nature of his influence in an exclusive video interview with TIME_ by [Lindsay Schallon / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Schallon / People Contributor Jul 29, 2015 6:43 AM UTC  Jane Birkin poses at the Tuileries gardens in Paris on June 4, 2015 Jane Birkin poses at the Tuileries gardens in Paris on June 4, 2015 Francois Guillot—AFP/Getty Images by [Lindsay Schallon / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Lindsay Schallon / People Contributor Jul 29, 2015 6:43 AM UTC [Birkin bags](https://www.therealreal.com/products/women/handbags/handle-bags/hermes-crocodile-birkin-35-37?sid=pxogmz&kpid=HER34861&gclid=CjwKEAjw0NytBRD-1d3QsdHNpR0SJACGXqgRM-aSsiwRyVm8XtpRYjtJT6oQwW3ItInmSubXL1txYxoCo5Lw%5FwcB) — with their years-long wait lists, five-digit price tags and cult-like celebrity following — have long been considered a status symbol. Now the inspiration behind [Hermès](http://www.hermes.com/index%5Fus.html)‘s high-fashion bag, British singer and style icon Jane Birkin, is speaking out about the practices used to created one of the label’s most notable (and expensive) iterations, the crocodile Birkin. Following an investigation conducted by PETA (which the organization published footage of on [its website](http://www.peta.org/)), Birkin released a statement to the [AFP](http://www.afp.com/en/home/). “Having been alerted to the cruel practices reserved for crocodiles during their slaughter to make Hermès handbags carrying my name… I have asked Hermès to debaptise the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place,” she said. In response, Hermès released the following statement to PEOPLE: “Jane Birkin has expressed her concerns regarding practices for slaughtering crocodiles. Her comments do not in any way influence the friendship and confidence that we have shared for many years. Hermès respects and shares her emotions and was also shocked by the images recently broadcast.” The statement continues: “An investigation is underway at the Texas farm which was implicated in the video. Any breach of rules will be rectified and sanctioned. Hermès specifies that this farm does not belong to them and that the crocodile skins supplied are not used for the fabrication of Birkin bags.” Celebrities are notoriously fond of Birkin bags — many willing to wait as long as it takes (or pay an upward of $150,000) to sling one over their shoulders. Ashley Tisdale, for example, once waited two years for this [cobalt blue handbag](http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2011/04/13/ashley-tisdale-birkin/). And Eric Johnson surprised (his then fiancée) Jessica Simpson with an [orange one](http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2011/07/11/jessica-simpson-purse-birkin/) for her 31st birthday. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian West, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez have all been spotted carrying croc versions. [_This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com_](http://stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com/2015/07/28/jane-birkin-hermes-crocodile-birkin-bag-controversy/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When I say, Robin Hood of fashion, what I'm saying is, currently the most amazing designers get very few opportunities to connect with the masses. The most amazing designers have been programmed to design inside of a luxury context. It's a simple equation. It isn't e equals mc squared, it's like, duh. Just go get dope to do stuff for mass. I really respect what Zara H & M did because -. People used to look down, on the mass and say that the mass didn't have good taste. And H & M and [ UNKNOWN ] and said, I think they do I just don't think they have opportunities. In that, current mass world, there, as far a clothing goes, there isn't a, res, a perspective that is a strong as Johnny [ UNKNOWN ]. And humbly or assertively or however you want to word it. I'm going to do that. [ MUSIC ] Music is like, now I think it's in the air. It's like, what do they say on [ UNKNOWN ]. It's the [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] You know. It's like. A non, you know what I'm saying? You don't need any factories for it. You just need a laptop. And to, to, to go out of something that's like, strictly in the air to something that is physical. And multiple people's jobs are dependent on making it and. Shipping it and selling it and doing it again its a different level of responsibility I was like oh [ NOISE ] ye its here now people are gonna be wearing your close and its gonna be you got a responsiblity you know like its gonna be people who really like how I look its going to be people wo are like. Sparking a conversation, because they got one of your anoraks on. It's going to be people who are cold and, you know, somebody hands it to them in the movie theater. So it's a real proposition to humanity to make something physical. It; s something about when you grab the fabrics now that feels like the energy of your first day in college, that first year in college. The energy of that. The last year in high school. 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