Contradictions of Wealth and Culture in Luxury Fashion

The Birkin bag made by French luxury retailer Hermès has become a status symbol for the global elite. Notoriously difficult to obtain, the world's rich obsess over how to get their hands on one. But when US retailer Walmart recently launched a much cheaper bag that looked very similar to the Birkin, nicknamed a "Wirkin" by others, it sparked discussions about wealth disparity and the ethics of conspicuous consumption.

In this episode we speak to two sociologists, Parul Bhandari from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Aarushi Bhandari from Davidson College in the US, about the Birkin and what it symbolises.

This episode was written and produced by Katie Flood. Sound design and mixing by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl. Read the full credits for this episode and sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

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• Birkin bags, Swiss ski resorts and Louis Vuitton: how super-rich Delhi housewives strive to be part of a global elite
• Birkin handbags, Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ and the meme-ification of class warfare