Jane Birkin’s very first Birkin — an all-black, handcrafted Hermès prototype sketched on a vomit bag during a 1984 Paris–London flight — sold at Sotheby’s Paris on July 10, 2025, for a staggering €8.6 million (approximately $10.1 million with fees). This smashed all previous records for a handbag at auction. The intense 10-minute bidding war began at €1 million and wrapped up at €7 million. A private bidder from Japan ultimately secured the bag. Several reports suggest big names, like Lauren Sánchez, bid on the bag. However, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter, Violet Affleck, just proved she’d never be caught dead bidding on a bag for that price.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter, Violet Affleck, wore a handmade knit bag amid the Birkin frenzy

Violet Affleck is quickly distinguishing herself as more than just a famous last name. The daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner is becoming a sharp, principled voice in the fight against climate change and the culture of unchecked consumerism that fuels it.

While Violet didn’t speak against the recent auction of Jane Birkin’s original Hermès Birkin bag, it’s clear that she’d never spend $10 million on such an item. DailyMail.com posted a photo of Violet wearing a handmade knit bag. Her bag came from the WADORN DIY crochet handbag making kit. Violet, a notable nepo baby, certainly has the family funds for a handbag she didn’t create herself. However, her love of sustainability is evident in her style.

Photos captured Violet wearing the bag during the same week as the auction of Jane Birkin’s original Birkin bag. While Violet likely didn’t mean to make a statement regarding consumerism with the bag, we couldn’t help but notice the juxtaposition.

Jane Birkin’s original Birkin bag sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris for $10.1 million in July 2025. Bidding began at 1 million euros. The handbag is officially the most expensive ever to be sold at an auction.

Violet Affleck has already published a personal essay about the LA wildfires

At just 19 and already a Yale freshman, Violet Affleck is emerging as a compelling voice in climate activism. In May 2025, she published a striking essay titled “A Chronically Ill Earth: COVID Organizing as a Model Climate Response in Los Angeles” in the Yale Global Health Review. According to E! News, she drew on her harrowing first-hand experience of the January LA wildfires to argue that society must treat climate change with pandemic-level urgency.

Reflecting on a tense hotel-room debate with her mother, Jennifer Garner, who was “shell‑shocked” by the destruction, Violet wrote, “as a lifelong Angelena and climate-literate member of Generation Z, my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when.” By framing climate disasters as the predictable outcome of “unsustainable consumption patterns concentrated among the wealthiest,” she connects environmental degradation to broader social injustices.

Violet’s activism stretches beyond her writing. In 2024, she spoke before the LA County Board opposing mask bans and advocating for air filtration.

Jennifer Lopez has a collection of rare Hermès Birkin bags

Violet Affleck was known to have a close friendship with Jennifer Lopez during Lopez and Ben Affleck’s marriage. The stepmom and stepdaughter appeared to maintain their closeness even after the divorce. However, they may have different opinions on handbags.

According to Marie Claire, Lopez was spotted carrying her rare Hermès Kelly Bleu Saphir Shiny Porosus Crocodile Sellier Bag while at the airport in Málaga, Spain. She reportedly bought the bag for $80,000 in 2024.

Lopez boasts an enviable collection of Hermès bags, aside from the one seen at the airport. Estimated at over $500,000 on the resale market, her collection spans classic black and white Birkins to jaw-dropping exotic versions, like the Himalayan crocodile and lime green alligator, all worn with unbridled confidence.

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