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Why Hermés Birkin Bag is a manifestation of how leather is the ultimate canvas for conceptual art.

Hermés Birkin brings leather as the ultimate canvas for art

Hermés Birkin is far more than the most expensive handbag of all time.

This prestigious symbol of wealth is part of collections worth £1.5 million and also deserving of custom-made glass cases just to keep them safe.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a Hermés Birkin brown leather handbag on a white bedspread

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a living room with a shelf with Hermés Birkin leather handbags

Hermès first introduced it in 1984, but it’s still on the game for the ones willing to bring a classic back — this time, with its leather being a real canvas for art to gain life.

The iconic Birkin bag created by the Maison has already received tons of reinterpretations that lie between blasphemy and true masterpieces.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a Hermés Birkin leather handbag with graffiti printed

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a black Nike and Hermés Birkin leather handbag with graffiti printed

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a white Hermés Birkin leather handbag with NASA printed

Jokes aside, the customization thing that seems to steal this untouchable status symbol and give it new meanings just shows us that now it’s really about the concept.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a Hermés Birkin leather handbag with blue marble printed

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Rihanna with a Hermés Birkin leather handbag with blue marble printed

Sculptor Barbara Ségal has been exploring stone sculptures that replicate the Birkins, as a reflection of how consumerism impacts our lives and the clear obsession we have developed for these goods.

Plus, the photographer Tyler Shields went beyond that, having paid US$100,000 for a red crocodile-skin Birkin only to destroy it in the name of this art concept.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a red Hermés Birkin leather handbag on fire

Ok, they have definitely touched some sore spots.

Want more examples?

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Lady Gaga holding a white Hermés Birkin leather handbag

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Lady Gaga holding with her mouth a white Hermés Birkin leather handbag

Lady Gaga let Terence Koh scribble "I Love Little Monsters, Tokyo Love" in Japanese onto her white leather Birkin using a black marker pen. Back in 2010, the press got so shocked that responses included people saying that if they ever owned a Birkin Bag one day, they’d treat it like their own child, while Mother Monster… Well, she was never a stranger to causing a buzz.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Kim Kardashian wearing a black leather outfit hanging a Hermés Birkin bag painting by contemporary artist George Condo

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a Hermés Birkin leather bag painting by contemporary artist George Condo

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Kim Kardashian with Kanye West hanging a Hermés Birkin leather bag painting by contemporary artist George Condo

Three years later, Kanye gifted Kim Kardashian with a Hermés Birkin featuring a painting by the contemporary artist George Condo, who had previously illustrated West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Some might say it ruined the bags, but what’s the reason for that?

Artists are always looking for ways to blend techniques and concepts, and nothing in art can ever be done without purpose — sometimes the goal is exactly to disturb — and seeking for authenticism is obviously connected with the reactions as well.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a man holding a blue Hermés Birkin leather bag

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a blue Hermés Birkin leather bag

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - Kim Kardashian hanging a Hermés Birkin leather bag

And what leather has to do with that? The subversivism a lot of creatives aim for needs a flexible and reliable canvas for the most exquisite interventions and performances. Leather, as few fabrics can, helps to build an artistic legacy that won’t fade, getting even more unique and imperfectly beautiful over time.

Love it or leave it, but Hermés Birkin Bag is now a surface for the most honest expressions — great news that both art and leather can last forever, right?

And excuse us, but we definitely have a thing for custom hand-painted leather. Once you get to know works such as Patrick Church’s commissions, you may agree with us on that.

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a couple on a blue couch besides a Hermés Birkin leather bag

METCHA - Hermés Birkin - handbag - a man wearing black leather pants matching with a black and white Hermés Birkin leather bag

Follow Hermés creative steps here.

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