Is the Birkin Bag Francesca Eastwood Set on Fire a Fake?

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The red crocodile Hermes Birkin bag that starred alongside Francesca Eastwood in Tyler Shields' destruction photography project (you know, the one that has had fashion's finest the world over up in arms since photos were released earlier this week) has been called out as a fake by an "Hermés expert." Amanda Mull, managing editor of PurseBlog wrote:

Not only does the “Birkin” look like it’s made out of croc-embossed pleather at the very best, but the way that the bag is twisting and bunching in the pre-destruction photo should be enough to tip off anyone that’s ever seen the real deal in person. The bag that was used for this shoot probably cost some poor production assistant $25 to buy it out of the trunk of a car in Santee Alley. Our Hermes experts on the PurseForum agree–it’s a knockoff, and not even a convincing one.

Also, the "real deal" would only retail for a paltry $38,000 rather than the $100,000 that Shields allegedly paid out of pocket for it. Whether the bag destruction photos were a publicity stunt or not, somewhere right now, the people who made these ads are laughing.

Shields probably isn't, though. He told ArtInfo that in light of the response to the project, he would donate $100,000 ("tax-free") to a family in need if someone purchased one of the photos. That's going to be a tough promise to back out of, even if the bag turns out to be a fake.
· Fact Check: Clint Eastwood’s Daughter and the Tale of the $100,000 Burning Birkin [PurseBlog]
· Controversies [Racked LA]
· All Birkin Coverage [Racked]