You're probably here because you know a Birkin isn't just a handbag.
Honestly, at this point, calling it a bag feels a bit reductive. It's an investment that happens to hold your stuff.
But most people miss the fact that the standard Birkin is just the entry point.
The rare Birkin styles, the mad artistic experiments, the bags that make even collectors question whether they’d be able to do justice to those bags in terms of styling, are where things get fun. Those are the ones people wait decades for.
So let's talk about them. This is your complete limited edition Birkin list for serious collectors.
The Holy Grails
The Himalaya Birkin
Okay, starting with the big one. The Himalaya.
Everyone's heard of it. Not everyone's seen one in person. Even fewer will ever own one.
This is made from Niloticus crocodile that's been hand-dyed to fade from smoky grey to pearly white, mimicking snow-capped mountains.
The gradation isn't painted or sprayed on. Each bag takes something like 200 to 300 hours of work. The dyeing alone can take weeks because you can't rush getting a mountain range onto a handbag.
The last one at auction went for over $300,000. But money's not even the main issue. You can have half a million sitting in your account right now, doesn't matter. Hermès decides who gets offered a Himalaya. You don't buy this bag. If you're very, very lucky, this bag finds you.
The Ombre Lizard Birkin
Lizard skin's got these natural ring patterns, looks like tiny halos across the whole surface. When Hermès does their ombre effect on lizard, they're working with this existing texture, creating this depth that changes completely depending on how light hits it.
Usually see this in the 25 because lizard doesn't scale up well to larger sizes. Also means it's incredibly rare, you can't make as many bags from lizard as you can from, say, calf leather.
Dubai collectors absolutely love these. Something about lizard in the desert just makes sense, doesn't it?
The Architectural Bags
The Faubourg Collection
Ever wanted a bag that looks like the Hermès Paris shopfront?
Not inspired by it. Not vaguely reminiscent. Actually looks like the storefront at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Windows, awning, architectural details, the lot, miniaturised onto a Birkin 20.
Four versions exist:
Faubourg Day (blue and brown): Sunny afternoon vibes. The blues' crisp, brown grounds it.
Faubourg Night (darker blue): Evening in Paris. Moody, still elegant, but more dramatic.
Faubourg Midnight (all black): For when you want your statement bag to be an aggressive statement.
Faubourg Snow (white and concrete grey): Currently the priciest on resale. Ehite Birkins already show every single mark, and white exotic in this design is nearly impossible to find.
Apparently, word on the street is that there's a grey one coming this autumn. Collectors are already badgering their SAs about it.
Faubourg Tropical
Two artists, Octave Marsal and Théo de Gueltzl, created this intricate hand-embroidered jungle scene that covers the whole bag. Lunéville stitching is an incredibly detailed embroidery technique.
Not printed. Not stuck on. Hand-embroidered. You might see one or two of these at auction each year. Might is the keyword here.
The Weird Ones
Shadow Birkin
Jean Paul Gaultier walked into Hermès and wondered if he could make a Birkin without any hardware. Everyone probably thought he'd lost it. Then they made it anyway.
The Shadow Birkin has everything: the lock, flap, clochette, sangles, embossed directly into the leather. It was originally dropped in 2009-2010. Hermès brought it back recently in a 25 and added a clutch version.
In and Out Birkin
Remember those cutaway diagrams in old encyclopedias showing what's inside things?
That's what this is. The front's printed with everything you'd expect to find inside a Birkin. A coin purse, dust bag, lipstick, pencil, even a little Rodeo charm dangling off the sangles.
It's playful, referential and makes people smile when they clock what they're looking at.
Birkin en Desordre
En desordre means in disorder in French.
So Hermès took their most perfectly symmetrical bag and deliberately made it wonky. Off-centre straps, uneven pockets and tilted flap.
It debuted at the Fall/Winter 2022 runway. It's a 30cm bag that looks like someone designed it during a creative fever dream, but somehow it still looks elegant because, well, it's Hermès.
Not many got made. Even fewer are floating around now.
Birkin Ghillies
Scottish dress shoes met a French luxury handbag. Odd pairing, works brilliantly.
The Ghillies have perforated leather trim, broguing, inspired by traditional Scottish footwear. It’s an unexpected reference that somehow doesn't feel gimmicky.
We mostly see it in neutrals where the detail really shows. Black with the perforations catching different light. Etoupe with slightly darker holes creating a subtle contrast.
It's one of those bags where the craftsmanship reveals itself slowly.
The Practical Ones
Birkin Cargo
What if we told you there’s a Birkin for people who actually need to carry things?
The Cargo's got multiple external pockets, a big front one, side bits for phone or keys, and even a dedicated bottle holder. It comes in 25, 35, and HAC sizes and is perfect for people whose lives involve more than just a wallet and lipstick.
Birkin Picnic
Basket weaving and leather together make the Picnic Birkin.
France's best basket weavers work with Hermès' leather people to make something that looks like it belongs on a yacht in Saint-Tropez.
Kelly Picnic came first in 2019 and caused enough fuss that they made a Birkin version in 2022.
Birkin Fray Fray
In the summer of 2021, Hermès released this, and everyone thought it might be an unfinished product.
It's a 35cm in Toile H canvas with deliberately frayed edges, an unlined interior and sellier stitching keeps the structure, but everything else is intentionally undone.
It’s deconstructed luxury. The fraying is the whole point. It takes time because creating controlled chaos by hand is harder than creating perfection.
Birkin Colormatic
Spring/Summer 2022 brought us this colour explosion.
Five different Swift leather colours on one bag. Bold, vibrant, colour-blocked panels everywhere with zippered pouches in contrasting shades. It's modern, playful, and is exactly what happens when Hermès decides to take colour theory completely literally.
You'll either love it instantly or wonder what on earth they were thinking. Again, no middle ground with these experimental pieces.
Birkin 3-en-1
Good things in threes, apparently.
This is three bags in one: removable canvas clutch with leather flap, classic leather tote, or both together for the full Birkin look.
Use the clutch separately for evenings. Tote alone for a more open carryall. Or stick them together for a traditional Birkin look.
The Structure Variations
Birkin Sellier
For years, Birkins only came in soft Retourne styles with rounded edges and interior stitching.
In 2010, Hermès released the Sellier as a limited edition. They brought it back in 2019, which is still available but rare. It includes exterior topstitching, rigid structure, and sharp corners, just like Kelly Sellier.
Birkin Retourne
The Birkin Retourne is your classic. The one Jane Birkin and Jean-Louis Dumas sketched on that Paris to London flight in 1984.
It features soft, rounded edges, interior stitching, and that slouchy-but-structured thing everyone recognises. It’s still the most wanted, still the hardest to get and still breaks records.
Everything else is basically a variation on this.
HAC (Haut à Courroies)
In 1892, it was designed to hold riding boots and saddles. Taller than a standard Birkin, shorter double-rolled handles. Both Kelly and Birkin evolved from this original travel bag.
The HAC usually comes in 40cm, but ranges from 27 all the way up to 60. The height is what sets it apart, with more vertical space, perfect for travel.
People who live between cities swear by these. The entire weekend fits in an HAC 50 without looking overstuffed.
Birkin Shoulder
Jean-Paul Gaultier's original Shoulder Birkin came back for Spring/Summer 2024. Deep indigo denim with black Swift leather flap and handles, palladium hardware, elongated shape, proper shoulder straps.
Denim makes it more structured than you'd think.
The Statement Pieces
Birkin Rock
Men's Fall/Winter 2022 runway introduced this, and it's exactly what the name suggests. The all-black Volupto leather, multiple zipped pockets, chain running from the front ring to the Kelly lock. It’s unisex, gives off rock and roll vibes and yet is still somehow elegant because it's Hermès.
So Black Birkin
Gaultier created this in 2010 for monochromatic blackaholics. It’s a black bag, black hardware, black everything.
Celebrities collect them, and serious collectors hunt them. They're chic minimalism while being nearly impossible to find.
Birkin Casaque
Inspired by jockey silks, casques in French, debuted in 2022 with vibrant colour blocks.
It features a tri-colour, two complementary outside colours, contrasting inside. It’s bold and equestrian-inspired, perfect for people who aren't scared of colour.
Birkin Sunrise/Sunset
The Birkin Sunrise/Sunset features a horizontal colour-blocked rainbow design that mimics sunrise or sunset. It’s exactly what they sound like, colour gradations across the bag.
It’s rare enough that you might see one at auction every few years, and distinctive enough that you won't forget it.
Canvas & Mixed Bits
Birkin Toile
The Birkin Toile combines Swift leather with Ecru Toile Quadrille canvas. This is the Birkin for people who actually want to use their bag without having a small breakdown every time they set it down. It mostly comes in 25cm, though you'll occasionally see larger sizes floating about.
Birkin Anate Fringe
Fall/Winter 2023 brought us the Anate Fringe, and dramatic doesn't even cover it.
They typically use Evergrain leather because it lets the fringe flow properly rather than sitting stiff and awkward. The colours tend toward the rich end, noir, ebene, shades that make the movement of all that fringe look even more striking.
You'll mostly see these in the 35 Sellier, though mostly is a relative term when we're talking about limited Hermès releases that barely get made in the first place.
Final Thoughts On The Limited Edition Birkin List
Rare Birkin styles are in different leagues. This Hermès collector guide covers all the rare styles out there. Most people see a Birkin. Collectors see Faubourg Night, Faubourg Day, spot Shadow embossing from across a room, and recognise Lunéville stitching before they've even seen the whole bag.
Now, how do you get your hands on these beauties? At Love Luxury, you can actually stumble across a Shadow Birkin on a random afternoon and take it home that evening.
No waitlist. No purchase history requirements. No playing the allocation game where you buy jewellery you'll never wear just to prove you're serious about handbags.
Every piece is thoroughly authenticated. You get the bag, the provenance, the peace of mind, and none of the circus.
Browse our Hermès collection. You might be surprised what's sitting there waiting.
