Jane Birkin is died The 76-year-old Sunday has much to offer, including collaborating with longtime partner Serge Gainsbourg, vocals on his hit “Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus,” and acting both on stage and screen. will be memorable.

But it’s fashion that’s likely to make her legacy last the longest.

The London-born muse has long been considered a style icon as she rose to stardom in her adopted home country of France. This is in no small part due to the famous Hermès bag that bears her name.

This timeless design was born out of a chance encounter between Birkin and then-luxury maison president Jean-Louis Dumas on a plane to London in the 1980s.

Birkin reportedly Unable to find a leather bag she liked in the market, she was often photographed using a wicker basket as a purse instead. The day before meeting Dumas, Gainsbourg accidentally crushed one of her baskets with his car.

Birkin sketched out the idea of ​​a generously sized handbag to fit in a sick bag on an airplane. Hermès, which said in a statement Sunday that it had lost a “close friend and longtime companion,” responded, and its accessories are now selling for dozens and even hundreds of dollars.

“When I die, ‘Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus’ and ‘Blowup’ won’t be the only ones remembered.” Birkin told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. In 2020, she also referenced her blockbuster movie, saying, “But[people]will probably only talk about bags.”

But doing so overlooks the previous decades, the 60s and 70s, when Birkin’s disheveled bangs, basket bag and crotch piece epitomized her seemingly casual “French girl style.” It will be.

And whether it’s high-waisted flares, minidresses, or the famous white dress she wore backwards at the 1969 Arts Festival Gala (a dress that fell so deep that it needed to be secured with a brooch), fans would imitate. I kept doing it. Her unconventional fashion choices.

Over the years, designers such as Paco Rabanne and Martin Margiela have sought her services as a model and collaborator. In 2016, she starred in a campaign for Saint Laurent. Birkin continued to be a discreetly glamorous presence on red carpets and stages around the world, continuing her stellar performances well into her later years.

Scroll down to see Jane Birkin’s most stylish moments.

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