Thieves have stolen a designer handbag haul of coveted Hermes Birkins worth $1 million from a home in the affluent Melbourne bayside suburb of Brighton.

The collection of 30 bags was stolen while their owner was overseas.

One of the stolen Hermes handbags

An unknown group of thieves is believed to have forced their way into the Brighton house sometime between September 18 and last Sunday.

Glen Eira detectives investigating the case have released an image of one of the stolen bags.