Kate Moss Just Used a £30,000 Bag as a Beach Tote—Now That's Iconic
Kate Moss has had more than her fair share of iconic fashion moments in her time, but using a £30k Hermès Birkin as a beach bag might just top them all.


I don’t know about you but, when I go on holiday, I have very strict rules about which packed items I’ll wear to the beach and which I’ll reserve for other, more elevated endeavours. Why? Sand. I hate the fact it gets everywhere, can make your clothes mucky in seconds and is sometimes rough enough to scuff soft sandals. As such, I wear only very lived in pieces to the beach, opting for bags with discernible holes so as not to take half the coastline back with me to my apartment or hotel. However, Kate Moss doesn’t appear to share the same concerns as I, especially in the bag department, as her latest look proves.
Taking a break from it all on the stunning Spanish island of Formentera, Moss was seen enjoying a day on a golden beach alongside daughter Lila and actress Jamie Winstone. A girl’s trip—so far, relatable. Then I noticed the bag on her arm.
Instead of opting for a mesh or net tote, Moss selected a Hermès Birkin bag to carry her essentials in for her day at the beach. Let me repeat that: she used one of the most exclusive handbags in the world as a beach bag. Last month, actress Jane Birkin’s, who the bag is named after, Hermès Birkin bag sold at auction for a cool £7 million, while new styles in classic colourways of black and tan just like Moss’s cost circa £30-35k. However, you can't just wander into any Hermès store and buy a Birkin, even if it is cash in hand. Unless you've got a healthy record of previous Hermès purchases and are open to taking any Birkin offered to you (you might want a tan bag but the sales representative may only present you with pink as an option), chances are you won't make it past the brass threshold very far. That said, you can get your hands on a preloved style online for anything between £9k and £20k, depending on its condition and materials used.
Needless to say, while the supermodel has sparked many an iconic fashion moment in her time, this might top the lot.
Although many of us could only dream of owning a Birkin bag, for someone like Moss, who is and has been at fashion’s epicentre for decades, I can understand that, just like anything else that any of us become accustomed to, the novelty can wear off. If anything, it’s nice to see her not save her best arm candy for best, getting use of a bag that many would be too scared to remove from the safety of its dust bag and signature orange box.
However you feel about Kate Moss’s Birkin beach bag, one thing’s for sure—no one creates a fashion moment for the ages quite like her. If you're lucky enough 1) to be heading to an exotic beach anytime soon and 2) are in the market for a Birkin bag, scroll below to shop my edit of preloved styles below.
Shop Preloved Hermès Birkin Bags

Maxine Eggenberger isBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK’s Deputy Editor and has over fourteen years of experience in fashion journalism. She been creating engaging and authoritative content forBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK since 2018, covering runway reports, emerging trends, long-form features, talent interviews self-styled shopping stories and columns, including her edit of the best new-in buys. She ensures the highest editorial standards are met across the site, leads the editorial team in their search and keyword planning, works closely with the fashion and beauty team on strategy and continues to pen many of her own articles. Prior toBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK, Maxine's contributed to publications including Grazia, InStyle Marie Claire, Elle and Look, amongst others.