Ms. Truong My Lan's request for the court to return two white Hermes bags at the second phase of Van Thinh Phat's trial attracted attention on social networks.
The bag's full name is Hermes Himalayan Crocodile Birkin, and it is known as the most luxurious handbag in the world.
Each year, Hermes produces only 1-2 Birkins. With limited quantity and sophisticated workmanship, the bag made from albino crocodile skin is always expensive and difficult to buy.
Although the quantity can be counted on the fingers, the bag is still sought after by famous stars and the super rich to show class and fashion style.
However, the Hermes albino crocodile leather bag when appearing in Vietnamese showbiz caused endless controversy.
Seven years ago, a group of Vietnamese beauties including Ngoc Trinh, Le Ha, Phuong Le and Hai Duong caused a stir when they used three albino Hermes bags when attending an event in Ho Chi Minh City.
The photo features a series of famous, expensive, and hard-to-buy albino Hermes bags, making viewers feel like they are looking at "market goods" and unable to distinguish between real and fake bags.
The peak of the controversy was when designer Do Manh Cuong openly criticized beauties for using fake goods.
Ngoc Trinh then responded harshly, saying that designer Do Manh Cuong "only has money to buy a black Birkin bag and carry it 1,000 times, so he thinks everyone is like him?" and that he does not focus on design expertise.
In the series of unboxing luxury goods, Ngoc Trinh once again confirmed that the Hermes bag she used is genuine. She said she bought the bag in the US with the invoice price of 60,000 USD (about 1.4 billion VND according to the USD exchange rate at the time of purchase).
However, to buy the bag, Ngoc Trinh had to spend double the amount to buy accessories, clothes, and shoes at the store, otherwise she would have to wait 2 years to order from the brand.
Miss Hai Duong also affirmed "I will give a real bag to anyone who dares to bring a fake bag into the store" with a picture of her sitting in a Hermes store to prove that she uses genuine products.
Miss Phuong Le proved that she did not use a fake bag by sharing the crocodile skin certificate and her purchase receipt.
However, the information that Ngoc Trinh, Hai Duong, and Phuong Le gave was not convincing, and the stories were difficult to verify, making the audience skeptical for many years.
In the world, celebrities who own this bag are Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. In addition, Jamie Chua - a Singaporean businesswoman known as the "Queen of Hermes" - owns the most Hermes Himalayan Crocodile Birkin bags with 4.
In 2022, Sotheby's sold a size 30 diamond-encrusted Himalaya Birkin bag for more than $450,000. This is the rarest and most desirable version of the Himalaya Birkin bag.
To buy an albino crocodile Hermes bag, the buyer must be a VIP customer. At the same time, every year, the customer must spend a huge amount of money to convert into accumulated points according to the brand's requirements, maintaining the VIP status.
