When you hear the name Hermes, you probably think of the famed Birkin and Kelly bags. There are many other bags the leather house creates beyond those two icons, and most are fairly recognizable. Sometimes a true rarity pops up, though, and this time I ran into a bag I’ve never seen at Heritage Auctions.
Behold, the Hermes Shiny Vert Emerald Alligator, Rouge Vif Ostrich, Violet Veau Doblis Suede & Black Calf Box Leather Sac Himalaya Bag. It’s a mouthful because the bag has so many different materials and colors in a relatively small space. It immediately caught my attention, with a gold-plated kelly closure at the top right corner and a skewed stance. This bag is from the 80s, and it shows off the brand’s craftsmanship via the exotic appearance, complex construction and mix of materials.
The starting bid on this bag is $15,000 as part of the Heritage Auctions Luxury Accessories Signature Auction on April 28th. If you want to own an extremely rare piece of Hermes history, get ready for this item to hit the market. More info via Heritage Auctions.
31 comments
what the bloody f^#% is that!?
right? i thought i was having a stroke..
It is a Kelly bag having a stroke…
Classic comment! Gave me a good chuckle 🙂
Frankly? If I owned that bag, I’d sell it too.
I hate to say anything negative, because in general I think there is always somebody out there who can rock a unique bag but… this looks like a child’s art project.
UGLY
There’s a reason why it’s rare. It’s ugly. However, if from a collector standpoint, I’d buy it if money were no object.
Hideous
One hot mess.
this is ugly. looks like they made it out of leftover materials. it’s good that Hermes tried to push the envelope but they didn’t have to push it that far.
I can see the design process … ” hmm what do we do we all the left over material? let’s put it together and make a handbag! call it unique and slap a 5 figure price tag”
I am reminded of the book “If I ran The Zoo.” Did Dr. Seuss design this?
It can go hang out with the multi legged one you posted awhile back.
I pride myself on liking really nice things–no matter who the designer/what label it is… I’m certain that I inherit that trait from my late mother! But this is obscene!!! I’ve never seen anything so damned hideous in all my 5+ decades! And yet; some fool will be willing to deplete their bank account for this ‘rare piece of Hermes history.’ I’m truly sorry if I offended anyone with my comments…
I’ll see you 6+ and a bet on the Grand National! Do you remember some of the crazy hats at the wedding of Prince William and Kate? One of those fashionistas would have happily carried this! EEK!
Ridiculous.
If this was April 1 I’d swear it was a gag, not a bag.
Looking at from a perspective that it came from an fashion era where “Power Dressing” style clothes with its structured shoulder pads was popular and the popularity of Patrick Nagel lithograph artwork and Dynasty series, this is a beautiful it bag to have for a woman of money back then.
Looks like animal farm holiday edition Christmas vomit event
Give me a break…if Angelina Jolie, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Oprah, Mrs. Obama, Jennifer Anniston, Daphne Guinness and every other socialite started to carry this bag, you all would be counting your pennies and thinking this is the latest and greatest since the Birkin!
No, never!
That is quintessential 80’s OTT. Doesn’t anyone remember the big hair, the shoulder pads, the hideous makeup? I’m thinking “Working Girl”. It could definitely work in the 80’s corporate environment. Not saying I like it but in context, I totally get it.
very artistic and retro but certainly not a bag for the masses but the woman who is so self assured of herself that she really doesn’t care what others think. I love the colors but it’s just too busy….not ugly, just avant garde.
I’m not so sure that it is “ugly” but I just am not a fan. I’m not a huge fan of the brand in general….For the most part they do not look comfortable to carry, most of the time the women carrying them have them hanging open, and if you did have have it closed up it would be too labor-some and time consuming to have to open up to grab anything quick….. I do think Victoria Beckham has some pretty colors and in a photo the bag does “look” beautiful, but give me a good Prada, Gucci, or any really good fine leather handbag and I’d take the 2,500 bag over these 20,000 any day (if I had to actually carry the bag and I could not turn around and sell it and buy about 10 other bags….
One word, UGLY!
UMMMM! So I am a child of the 60s and lived with big shoulder pads in the 80s and hung out at Stage 54 and am the 3rd generation Hermes devoted client who grew up surrounded by fashion that was often OTT. But this made me clean my glasses and then my computer monitor and then re load my page—I thought I was off centre or something. Only a collector with more money than sense would buy this so I am sure that someone will get into an auction frenzy and bid too much. I thought Hermes used “Petite Hermes” for its scraps??? And then I it was April Fools joke. And then I decided it was a replica handbag from one of those Chinese replica stores getting really smart and offering a handbag that combined too many styles and too many different brands into one handbag!! So there is exotic skin scraps, a Kelly closure and what looks to me like a Celine or Chloe design element or both in this handbag. And WHY call it a HIMALAYA bag when all of us who covet Hermes know that Himalaya is very specifically used as the name of the ultimate and very rare CROC handbag made by Hermes—Victoria Beckham received it as gift with the diamond clasp so Himalaya has had lots of press???? I am still stuck on how can you gracefully open it and how could you carry it? And usually I love asymmetrical designs in fashion, gardens, interiors but there is just something quite off in this.
Woa calm the tits down. If you don’t like it, move on. Don’t give your lecture here.
I don’t think its distasteful looking at it as a contemporary take on vintage art-form. The choice of skin combination may be the problem with it. If Lady gaga or Beyoncé carried this, it may not look out of place… it might even be coveted. I’ve seen uglier like the LV skin patch bag that Beyoncé owns from a few years back. That was the cheapest looking most expensive bag LV produced at the time, and the ugliest Marc ever designed.
Gag me with a purse!
lol well it’s certainly the least boring Hermes bag I’ve ever seen