Yacht as store? Luxury Hermes Birkin handbags will be displayed this week in Fort Lauderdale on a 55-foot VanDutch yacht dubbed a Birkin Pop Up Yacht.
Want to buy a $360,000 diamond-studded handbag off a nearly $2 million yacht?
Or how about buying all 30 Hermès Birkin handbags displayed, together with the 55-foot VanDutch yacht, for a cool $4 million?
That’s the offer from luxury retailer Privé Porter aboard what it calls the “Birkin Pop Up Yacht.”
The yacht-as-store will be showcased at the VanDutch Center at 2300 Las Olas Boulevard from Thursday through Sunday, while the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show takes place nearby.
“VanDutch and Privé Porter have created something that’s never been done before — the ultimate His and Her luxury package — a shocking fantasy gift for The Yachtswoman Who Thought She Had Everything,” VanDutch chief marketing officer Dirk DeSouza said in a news release.
Of the 30 Hermes Birkin bags offered, the priciest is Braise Shiny Porosus 35cm Crocodile with 18-karat white gold and diamond hardware, offered at $360,000, according to Jeff Berk of Privé Porter.
“We’re not only chasing the Christie’s record for an auctioned Birkin that recently sold for $221,846, but confident that because our bag is unused, unlike their bag, we’ll break that record-setting price,” Berk said in the news release. “Surrounded by the astronomical wealth of the mega-yacht community during Boat Show week, we’re hoping to achieve just that.”
The Birkin bag is handcrafted by luxury manufacturer Hermès of France as a tribute to Jane Birkin, the UK-born, France-based actress and singer widely known as a style icon.
The Birkin bags offered on the VanDutch yacht start at $15,000.
VanDutch yachts are designed in Holland and made in Wisconsin. The company offers three models: a 30-footer for $400,000 to $450,000; a 40-footer for about $750,000; and the 55-footer for $1.7 million. The yachts are known for their near-vertical bows and wide-open cockpits, said DeSouza.
The Birkin Pop Up Yacht is open for viewing from Nov. 5 through Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact www.vandutch.com/priveporter to arrange a visit.
By Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel
November 3, 2015
Appeared in the November 8, 2015 print edition as ‘Yacht selling boutique handbags drops anchor’