Man makes Hermès Birkin replica for girlfriend for just P22,000
This man could not afford an Hermès Birkin bag, so he spent two months creating his own version of it for his girlfriend.
Real estate agent Alexander Sway shared his 60-day journey on his Instagram and TikTok accounts in creating what could be the most thoughtful and treasured gift he could give his girlfriend, MJ Kim.
“My girlfriend always jokes she wants a luxury bag from Hermès as an anniversary gift, when I looked online for the price of a Birkin, I couldn’t believe it,” he said in his video.
“$100,000 for a bag is crazy, but what was even crazier was instead of paying, I decided to surprise her and make my own,” he added.
In his interview with Daily Mail, Alexander shared that he had done D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) projects before, so he thought of surprising his girlfriend with a handmade bag.
“I looked up the instructions online and it didn't seem too complicated, so I decided to give it a try,” he said.
In the video, Alexander is seen laying out a whole piece of leather and tracing it with a cutout pattern of the Birkin bag which he found online. The specific bag he replicated was the So Black Matte Alligator Mississippiensis Birkin 35 which costs $110,000 (P6.1 million).
@liveyoursway Part 1 - Handmaking a Birkin for my girlfriend #homemade #luxury #hermes #pnw #anniversary ♬ Unholy
“At first, I thought it was going to be pretty simple, I found blueprints online and cut them out, then I went to a local leather store and picked out some awesome black-dyed crocodile leather,” he narrated in the video.
According to Alexander, he thought it was going to be an easy process, but he made mistakes that he wasted a “bunch of good leather.”
He also shared in the video the challenges he encountered while making the bag, such as finding good leather, cutting out the patterns, and sewing—which he considers the hardest part.
“The first problem I encountered was not being able to find leather that luxury companies use, when I went to the local leather store, they helped me pick out a high-quality crocodile leather that only cost $80,” he said.
“Probably the hardest part of the project was sewing all the pieces together, this is very challenging because every hole had to be hand punched, and sometimes, I had to punch them twice because of how thick the leather was,” he added, saying his fingers went numb and had to take a lot of breaks.
The daunting process almost made Alexander give up, especially since it was his first project.
@liveyoursway Part 2 - Handmaking a Birkin for my girlfriend #homemade #luxury #hermes #pnw #anniversary ♬ Paris
“I finally understand why luxury companies charge so much for these handbags, there are so many steps involved and each step can take a lifetime to master,” he added.
Alexander worked on his girlfriend's gift in secret for 60 days, even at his parents' and brother's house. He finished the replica bag one month late for their anniversary, but it only cost him $400 (P22,000) for the leather and tools.
In the video, MJ's reaction to the gift was priceless. She was shocked and surprised, but nevertheless loved it. Alexander said that he believes MJ would still like the real thing, but she is happy with the replica.
Alexander's videos have been viewed over 50 million times on TikTok, and he has received a lot of support and appreciation from the comments section.
A TikTok user wrote: “This is the most expensive gift no price can compare.”
“Even if it doesn’t look perfect in the end! You spent time, energy, and care. You girl is so lucky to have a partner who would invest that level of care for her,” an Instagram user wrote.
On the other hand, some comments differ, like highlighting the “other purpose” of getting such a luxury bag.
“Ok but getting a birkin is not about the bags itself. It’s about the name, the experience, the status symbol, the exclusive invite, etc,” a user wrote.
Now that's what we call labor of love!