Influencer has brand new Birkin bag swiped as she was in changing room

An influencer has shared the ‘gut-wrenching’ moment her brand new Birkin bag was stolen from her as she was trying on clothes at a designer shop in London.

Model Janice Joostema, who boasts 1.2million followers on Instagram, posted CCTV of the shocking moment her Hermes shoulder Birkin bag was swiped while she was getting undressed in a VIP changing room at Manière De Voir in Oxford Street.

It comes amid a terrifying spate of designer handbag thefts, with robbers targeting £600,000 worth of products from two showrooms in London just three weeks apart.

Footage shows the thief, dressed in a long white coat, prowling around the high-end shop waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Moments later, she is seen brazenly opening the door to the changing room and sneaking in. 

Ms Joostema claims that she had her back turned because the windows looked out onto Oxford Street and she was putting a top on, adding: ‘She probably even saw me topless coming into the room and snatching it.’

The thief is seen momentarily walking in and back out of the changing room before suddenly appearing with the Birkin bag on her arm. In a bid to launch a quick getaway, her other bag got caught on the door handle. 

She eventually freed herself, raced down the stairs and fled the building with the coveted purse, which wealthy bag aficionados clamour to buy. 

Completely stunned, a panicked Ms Joostema can then be seen sprinting out of the changing room trying to work out what had happened. 

Made from materials like crocodile and alligator skins, as wells as luxe leathers with luxury names like Tadelakt and Monsieur Grainee, Birkin bags take a minimum of 18 hours to hand craft. 

Ms Joostema’s purse was a red Hermes JPG Shoulder Birkin which are being sold for more than £10,000 online.

The influencer issued a stark warning to Londoners as she shared the shocking footage.

She wrote: ‘Londoners beware. Thieves are coming into dressing rooms when they see you turned, they are watching you while you are changing and naked just to steal your belongings. 

‘My brand new Hermes shoulder Birkin I had less than a week was stolen while I was turned around in this room changing into a top, I was facing away from the door as the room is all windows. 

‘She poked her head in twice, I was naive and thought maybe she was innocently looking for the bathroom or something.’

Ms Joostema said she was ‘unharmed’ but that her passport was stolen at ‘the hands of this selfish individual’. She was forced to cancel her holiday to Switzerland.

The model added: ‘To work so hard for something and it be taken like this, is gut wrenching, for someone to purchase such items is a big deal, it’s not something small, and I don’t want to be materialistic but it’s the human morals and principle of the value of money and that cuts deep for someone who’s always dreamt of having an Hermès bag and it being taken like this. 

‘I believe everything happens for a reason but it’s really sad to know people exist in the world committing such acts of crime against other humans.’

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘On Tuesday, 17 December, following circulation of a video of the incident, officers contacted the victim of a theft that happened inside a shop in Oxford Street.

‘No arrests have been made at this stage. This matter is under investigation.’

It comes just two weeks after two masked robbers broke into a designer showroom and walked out with ‘thousands of pounds’ worth of luxury handbags during what the owner believes was a ‘targeted’ four-minute heist.

Evey Amery, a luxury consignment seller, was left feeling ‘sick’ and ‘horrified’ after discovering her north London showroom had been stripped of expensive pre-loved Chanel, Hermes and Dior bags in an ‘aggressive’ late night raid on December 3.

Her robbery comes just three weeks after three men stole £500,000 worth of luxury stock from a handbag shop called Sellier in Belgravia.

Police were not treating the robberies as linked but word has spread across the industry, with shops now on guard in the run-up to Christmas as the black market is in full swing. 

Ms Amery, who has owned her business Eveyspreloved since 2021, found it deeply ‘upsetting’ to watch the CCTV of the robbery, but was thankful that she was not inside at the time.

In exclusive footage obtained by MailOnline, two masked robbers were seen attempting to break into the showroom at 10.40pm.

The black-clad robbers, carrying bags and tools with them, were seen violently trying to kick the door down. But when they couldn’t break through the door with their body weight, they use what appears to be a crowbar or a similar tool to pry the door open.

Less than four minutes later, they reappear on CCTV, walking out with duffle bags stuffed with ‘dozens and dozens’ of pre-loved designer bags, including several from luxury brand Chanel. Cartier watches were also allegedly stolen in the shock heist.

That robbery came after three men stole £500,000 worth of designer goods from another luxury consignment shop in a raid that took just under four minutes again last month.

Luxury consignment has gained significant popularity in recent years. It allows buyers to get hold of second-hand luxury items for a cheaper price.

Shocking footage shows the trio dressed in black smashing through the front window and stealing the luxury items inside the Sellier store on November 13.

In the CCTV footage, two of the men could be seen breaking into the store before they began taking as much as they could.

They stuffed clothes and other luxurious items into duffle bags before quickly exiting the shop.

Blood was found at the scene by police officers who arrived just five minutes after the break-in happened at 1.50am on November 13.

The raided shop in upmarket Belgravia sells pre-loved luxury items and among the stolen items were six luxury bags that could be worth a combined £40,000.

This included four Chanel bags, a Hermes Kelly 35 and a Hermes Birkin that is currently selling for £14,000 online.

The third man waited outside the door on a motorbike acting their escape route as they rode off with the stolen goods.