Actress, singer and fashion icon Jane Birkin died at her home in Paris on July 16 at the age of 76. French President Emmanuel Macron posted on Twitter to pay tribute to Jane Birkin, describing her as a "French icon" and "true artist."
Jane Birkin and the Hermès Birkin bag that bears her name, image from The Guardian, photo by Sarah Lee
Jane Birkin was born in London on December 14, 1946, her mother, Judy Campbell, an actress, and her father, David Birkin, a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy.
Jane Birkin began acting in films in the 1960s, and early credits include Michelangelo Antonioni's Magnification (1966), Jacques Delyette's The Pool (1969), Andrea Cayet's Psychedelic Journey to Kathmandu (1969), John Gilleming's Massacre on the Nile (1978), and others.
Throughout her career, Jane Birkin has participated in more than 60 works, she has been shortlisted for the César Award for French Film three times, and in 2007 her first film "The Treasure Box" premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival and was also shortlisted for the "Golden Camera Award" that year.
Jane Birkin appeared in several representative films: "Enlarged" (1966), "Massacre on the Nile" (1978), "The Beach of Agnès" (2008)
As a singer, Jane Birkin is best known for his collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg on "Je t'aime... moi non plus", this song was once banned in many countries and the BBC, and of course became an example of "the more forbidden the more popular".
Jane Birkin and Gainsbourg's romance is another story, with a daughter who later became actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. Even after the divorce, Jane Birkin and Gainsbourg maintained a musical partnership.
Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg in 1969, Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le symphonique in 2017
Of course, more people know Jane Birkin because of Hermès' Birkin bag (Chinese often translated as "platinum bag" or "Birkin bag") after her.
Jane Birkin complained to Jean-Louis Dumas, Hermès CEO and art director on the plane, that he couldn't find a big, sturdy handbag, so Hermès launched the bag named after Birkin in 1984. Hermès also invited Jane Birkin to the studio and accepted her suggestion to increase her pockets.
Unlike many people who like to collect Birkin bags, Muse herself has a very limited number of Birkin bags, about 4 or 5, and she usually auctions them for charity after a few years of use of the bags.
Birkin by Jane Birkin by LES 3 MARCHES DE CATHERINE B
In 2015, Jane Birkin publicly asked Hermès to change the name of the bag after she learned about the PETA (Animal Rights Organization) investigation report into the brutal slaughter of crocodiles by Hermès crocodile skin suppliers, and then Hermès said that the situation in the video was an "isolated violation" and reiterated the brand's commitment to treating crocodiles ethically. Hermès and Jane Birkin then reached an agreement to continue using the latter's name on handbags.
In addition to Hermes' Birkin, there is also a handbag associated with Jane Birkin's name - vegetable basket, which is not Hermes' "vegetable basket", but a real vegetable basket woven with wicker. As a style icon of a generation, Jane Birkin's freewheeling, androgynous attitude to dressing still influences many people.
On the left is Jane Birkin walking the Hermès Spring/Summer 2000 collection, the brand's creative director at the time was Martin Margiela, image from Vogue RUNWAY; On the right is Jane Birkin's SAINT LAURENT Spring/Summer 2016 campaign
In the future, her name will be known to more people with Hermès Birkin bags, and long after, there will be people who will open Jane Birkin's story from this clue, marvel at how fashionable girls in white shirts, jeans, and vegetable baskets are in old photos from the 1970s, or be moved by the warm smile on the face from 20 to 70 years old.
Behind the scenes of the film Jane through Charlotte's Eyes, a documentary by Charlotte Gainsbourg for his mother, Jane Birkin. For students who want to know more about Jane Birkin's story, this film is worth watching