Helen Zille has ignited a fierce online debate after weighing in on the price and prestige of Hermès Birkin bags, calling them “ugly”, “insane” and “obscene”. “So I decided to Google a second-hand Hermès bag. I found one on eBay for R7,143,872.
You read that correctly. A 2nd-hand handbag for the cost of a luxury house. Who does this sort of thing?
And what’s more, it’s ugly,” the DA federal council chair wrote on X. “This is insane. Does anyone even notice a woman’s handbag?
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I have one all-purpose bag, and a few cheap clutches (R150) if I need to take a lipstick and comb to go out at night. Who in their right mind pays R800,000 for a handbag? Obscene doesn’t begin to describe it.” Zille’s comments come as a resurfaced video of former Ekurhuleni city managerImogenMashazidetailing the designer brands she wears has sparked renewed public outrage.
The clip, filmed at the Lux Afrique Jewellery, Watch and Home Exhibition (LAJWH Expo) in September, resurfaced this week while Mashazi faced heightened scrutiny at the Madlanga commission of inquiry on Monday. In the video, Mashazi, standing with a friend, lists a catalogue of luxury items she has on, including a Hermès bag and reveals she has an interest in collecting Birkin bags. I am not here to guide fashion.
I am here to serve the public and build functional governance One user challenged Zille’s claims about owning cheap clutches, saying: “Helen, there’s absolutely no need to insult our intelligence … You might not own any bag worth hundreds of thousands … but you certainly don’t walk around with a R150 clutch. And besides, your own money might go to other things that don’t make noise. Like, for instance, how much is your jewellery collection worth?” Zille hit back: “I actually walk around with those clutch bags.
And as you can see, no one noticed. Here is one. Fabric rolled around a base.
Some are cardboard. I can’t work out what this is … A little better.” Another user commented that Zille simply wasn’t “the target market” for luxury bags.
Zille responded that no one should be: “That’s the point. Especially not in a country like South Africa.” When someone else told her that “no one is looking at you for fashion advice”, Zille said she had no interest in being anyone’s fashion icon: “I would hate it to be otherwise. I am here to serve the public and build functional governance.” Hermès Birkin bags remain among the world’s most expensive fashion items, with prices for exotic models ranging from about $40,000 (R680,000) to more than $450,000 (R7.6m), depending on the leather, size, hardware and rarity. A Birkin 20 Alligator can cost between $75,000 and $115,000, while ultra-rare diamond-set Himalaya Birkins routinely exceed $450,000.
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