Hermès vs Chanel cat fight on TV show underscores hierarchy of handbags and cements the Birkin bag as holy grail of luxury

Scene in Nothing But Thirty where socialites toting Hermès Birkin bags crop from a group picture the Chanel bag of one member has gone viral

This prompts the character to hunt frantically for a Birkin. While fictional, the scene accurately reflects Chanel-Hermès rivalry and cements latter’s status

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A scene from the popular Chinese TV drama series Nothing But Thirty in which a character (left) has her Chanel handbag cropped from a group picture by her fellow socialites, who all tote Hermès Birkin bags.

Published: 4:01pm, 7 Aug 2020Updated: 6:50pm, 7 Aug 2020

The handbag wars are heating up in China, the world’s largest luxury market, and one particular runaway-hit TV show, Nothing But Thirty, pits the two most prestigious luxury brands in the world, Chanel and Hermès, against each other.

In a pivotal moment of the series, which has gone viral on Chinese social media, one of the main characters carries a Chanel 2.55 bag at a social event with fellow tai-tais (socialites or ladies who lunch), who are all sporting much more expensive and luxurious Hermès Birkin bags.

The group of fashionable ladies document their gathering with a commemorative photo-op but when they share it on social media, they crop the friend’s Chanel bag from the picture.

Her poor choice of handbag, according to the rarefied gang of sophisticated ladies, disqualifies her from being front and centre in the photo. Chanel 2.55 bags cost around €4,000 (US$4,750) while Hermès Birkin bags start at €10,000.

An Hermès Birkin (top) and a Chanel 2.55 handbag.

The slight weighs heavily on the woman, who goes on a frantic search for a Birkin bag in order to make up for her fashion faux pas and to fit in with her Hermès-loving friends.