Sidebar | 'The Best Investment Ever'

Love Marie Ongpauco Escudero, otherwise known by her stage name Heart Evangelista, is known for her vast collection of Hermès bags. “I have one extremely expensive bag that I’ve always wanted,” she told High Life in an interview. It was her Himalayan crocodile Birkin (similar to the one with diamond-studded hardware that was sold at auction at Christie’s for HK$2.94 million). “I buy myself all these Birkins because it’s the best investment ever,” she said.

She has since stopped buying for herself. “I’m done,” she said about collecting bags. But clarified that she still purchases Birkin bags, this time as canvases for her art: Ms. Escudero paints over beat-up and worn-out Birkins she finds, and sells them for more than double the price. “I used to have an emotional attachment to bags. But if you look at it as like money or good investments, then you think about it as a business.” – JLG