Kim Kardashian's Birkin Collection
Kim Kardashian's Birkin Collection
What she has shared, and what it teaches every collector.
Kim Kardashian's Birkin collection is one of the most talked-about in the world, yet very little of what is said about it comes from her. What she has shared publicly is telling all the same: a closet shelf lined with Birkins, a one-of-a-kind painted bag, and a habit of carrying her favourites again and again rather than retiring them. Here is what is on the record, and what a collection like hers asks of anyone who cares for one.
How many Birkins does Kim Kardashian own?
She has never put a number on it publicly, and we would rather not guess. Counts circulate widely, but none of them come from her.
What she has offered is a glimpse. In December 2018, a selfie she posted from her walk-in closet showed more than a dozen Birkins lined along the shelves behind her, with the painted bag she is best known for sitting top and centre. That is the honest picture of the collection: not a figure, but a wall of bags kept out on open shelves, within reach.
The painted Birkin
The piece most people picture is the bag painted by the American artist George Condo. It was a Christmas gift from Kanye West in 2013, and she shared it on Instagram as a one of one. Condo covered the leather with four painted figures, one of them a green monster, and later said the painting itself took him around fifteen minutes.
What makes it interesting to a collector is what happened next. In 2020, years after it had last been seen in public, she carried it again in Paris during fashion week. W Magazine treated the moment as proof that a Birkin is not single use, and that is exactly the point. The most personal bag in the collection is still one she takes out.
Carried, not kept
The same thread runs through her public appearances. In late 2023 she was photographed in New York with an oversized grey Haut à Courroies, one of the earliest Hermès designs, on her way to back-to-back meetings. Hardly a bag kept for best.
For all the attention her bags attract, the lesson they offer is a simple one. The collections worth admiring are the ones in use. Bags are made to go out, and the right care is what lets them, whether you own one Birkin or a wall of them. If you would like the story of how the bag came to be, read the history of the Birkin.
A collection is not measured by what stays on the shelf, but by what goes out with you.Havre de Luxe
What does a large Birkin collection need?
The care is the same bag by bag. A larger collection simply makes the habits matter more, because every bag waiting on a shelf is still exposed to light, dust and time. This is how we would look after one.
Know each leather
A grained calfskin, a smooth box leather and an exotic skin do not ask for exactly the same thing. Our guide to Clemence, Togo and Epsom sets out the differences, and caring for Caviar, Epsom and Clemence covers the routine for each.
Protect every new arrival
A new bag needs no conditioner, because the leather still holds its own oils. Before first wear, apply Water and Stain Guard for total peace of mind: two or three sprays onto the Application Mitt, then light, even passes over the leather, section by section. Never spray smooth leather or exotics directly.
Mind the light
Open shelves are a pleasure to look at, but sunlight is the quiet cause of dry, tired leather. Keep displayed bags out of direct sun, and once they are in regular use, condition with Nourishing Conditioner, the only product we make with a UV filter, at every other protect.
Guard the hardware
Locks, padlocks and feet carry the scratches of every outing. Our hardware protectors are made to order and sized to each model, across over 250 designer styles, to help guard the standard hardware from the first wear.
Rotate and rest
Give each bag time off between outings, in its dust bag rather than its box, somewhere cool, dry and shaded. Rotating through a collection is the most natural care there is.
Cleansing Wipes are safe on every exotic leather, from crocodile and alligator to ostrich and lizard. Wipe gently with the grain of the scales, never against it, in light passes rather than with pressure. Water and Stain Guard goes on exotics with the mitt, exactly as it does on smooth leather.
FAQs
How many Birkins does Kim Kardashian own?
She has never confirmed a number publicly. A selfie she shared from her closet in December 2018 showed more than a dozen Birkins on the shelves behind her.
What is Kim Kardashian's painted Birkin?
A one-of-a-kind Birkin painted by the artist George Condo, given to her by Kanye West for Christmas in 2013. She carried it again in Paris in 2020.
How should a large Birkin collection be stored?
In dust bags rather than boxes, somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight, with each bag given time to rest between outings.
Are Cleansing Wipes safe on an exotic Birkin?
Yes. Cleansing Wipes are safe on every exotic leather. Wipe gently with the grain of the scales, never against it.
Care worthy of the collection
A wall of Birkins or a single treasured bag, the answer is the same. Protect each one before it goes out, guard the hardware, rest it well, and then carry it. That is what these bags were made for, and it is what we make our care for.
Care for every bag on the shelf
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