Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

How Jane Birkin Changed ‘French Girl’ Style Forever

The British French actress and singer, who died on Sunday, embodied changing ideas of femininity and influenced fashion far beyond the Hermès bag that famously bears her name.
Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin (Getty Images)

“Serge was a great man. I was just pretty,” Jane Birkin was wont to say. But in the fashion industry, where Birkin’s impact as a style icon is unmistakable, few are likely to agree with that disparaging self-assessment.

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Further Reading

Case Study | Inside Hermès’ Best-in-Class Leather Goods Strategy

How a unique approach to supply chain, design, communications and retail has powered blockbuster demand for iconic bags like the Birkin and Kelly, enabling the French leather goods house to face down rivals and become a global megabrand with a market capitalisation greater than Nike’s.

About the author
Robert Williams
Robert Williams

Robert Williams is Luxury Editor at The Business of Fashion. He is based in Paris and drives BoF’s coverage of the dynamic luxury fashion sector.

In This Article
Topics
Organisations

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Luxury
How rapid change is reshaping the tradition-soaked luxury sector in Europe and beyond.

What Happened at Coperni Owner Tomorrow Ltd.?

The London-based showroom-turned-brand incubator, which also owns Martine Rose, is being sold to Italy’s Andrea Ciccoli. Founder Stefano Martinetto breaks down the move for BoF in this week’s High Margin luxury newsletter.


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON