It happened on a typical Southern California afternoon. I was strolling down Rodeo Drive after a full day of shopping at my favorite boutiques. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a gentleman carrying what appeared to be a Hermes Birkin 25cm. What caught my attention was the bold, colorful personalized graphics which covered the entire bag! I was intrigued, so I mustered the courage to I walk up to this stranger and complimented him on his “Birkin .” Upon closer inspection, I immediately discovered that the mystery “Birkin” was actually a Haut A Courroies 28cm because of the palladium square turn-lock on the bag.  The bag appeared to be either in Vache Naturelle or Natural Chamonix. As I was admiring the bag’s design, I suddenly noticed the small but unmistakable unique “G” monogram under the handle on the back. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks why I thought that the man looked familiar to me. I had an “OMG” moment when I realized that the man holding the bag was none other than fashion guru, Lakis Gavalas. Yes, THE Lakis Gavalas.

After I managed to pull myself together, I complimented him on how he turned the classic Hermes Kelly bag into the modern and sleek Kelly Lakis and that I thought the outside pockets on the Kelly Lakis were such handy and thoughtful features.

Mr. Lakis then said to me, “Oh, don’t you know that my Birkin Lakis is probably coming out next year?” I was absolutely floored when he told me this! I was so excited! He told me the Birkin Lakis will be in similar design to the Kelly Lakis. The Birkin Lakis will tentatively have two outside zippered pockets and be available in two colors: black and gold. He said the Birkin Lakis will be very limited – so for all of you Hermes connoiseurs and lovers out there, now is time to start bugging our favorite SA!

Mr. Lakis was very gracious and sweet and allowed me to take a photo of him using my low resolution iPhone. (Way to go Steve Jobs!). So, here is Mr. Lakis Gavalas himself:

After I went home, the wheels started turning in my head and I used my imagination and to come up with a DIY photo concept of what a Birkin Lakis might look like based on his concept:

I intentionally used palladium zippers on my black box Birkin with gold hardware ( since when Hermes would use mixed hardware? ) . Of course, I can’t even approach Mr. Lakis’ creative genius, so this is just my Photoshop creation and NOT the prototype, actual item, nor the final design.

What do you all think of the Birkin Lakis?