The Sparkle and Shine of Judith Leiber

Are you familiar with the stunning little sparkling minaudieres, from Judith Leiber? Talk about works of art! When shopping for Christmas in King of Prussia, I was in Neiman Marcus where they have quite the line of Judith Leibers and you know shine and sparkle will distract me!

How perfect for the stunning piece if your going out on New Years Eve?????

Judith Leiber who was born in 1921 in Budapest,Hungary is a designer of stunning luxury handbags, and was the first woman to join the handbag-makers guild in Budapest. A Jew, she escaped the Holocaust of World War II to the safety of the Swiss house when her father was able to obtain a Swiss schutzpass, a document that gave the bearer safe passage. She is raised cultured to the arts, opera, and beautiful handbags, that her family collected. Later Judith decides to join the Hungarian Handbag Guild as an apprentice and masters the whole craft, designing a luxury handbag from start to finish, becoming the first female artisan in the guild.

 

In 1947 she meets the love of her life Gerson Leiber, who is also a aspiring artist. Gerson's artistry and business drive are the force to have Judith create her own line of luxury accessories and they set sale for Brooklyn New York.

Neiman Marcus commissions Judith's employer Nettle Rosenstein,creator of the fist little black dress, to design a dress for First Lady Mame Eisenhower's Inauguration Ball outfit, and a handbag designed by Leiber, who bags would go on to graced the arms of nearly every First Lady on inauguration day from Mamie Eisenhower to Laura Bush. Her name may not be as recognizable as Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani, but her bags have been staples of fashion and pop culture for decades. Her distinctive creations are a regular presence at A-List red carpet events, appear in movies and television shows.

In 1966 she and her husband decide to open their own shops and create her own line. They open their first office and showroom on Madison Avenue, to sell Judith's eponymous line of impeccable handbags made in skins of, karung, alligator and lizard. Later in 1966, the designers iconic minaudiere is created by a beautiful mistake. Judith orders the mini metal handbags known as minaudieres from Italy, and they arrive dented. Not wanting them to go to waste, she starts to cover them with Austrian crystals Gerson had purchased. The outcome is a radiant work of art. The crystal minaudiere revolutionizes the world of luxury handbags, and put Judith on the map for as a artist of stunning handbags.

In 1998 Judith Leiber retires, with Gerson, after leaving her mark in the fashion industry. Judith has since embarked on various projects, including the creation of the Judith Leiber Museum and Gardens in East Hampton, along with supporting her various philanthropic efforts that are dear to her heart.

 

This woman is just amazing! Now at 90 she is still going strong. Now which one to get, they all are so incredible. But I must save first as most of these run from $1,500 to probably around $6,000! That's alot of Hendricks my friends!