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Judith Leiber (born Judit Pető; January 11, 1921 – April 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-American fashion designer and businesswoman.


Life and career

Leiber was born Judit Pető in 1921 in
Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, to Helene, a Vienna-born homemaker, and Emil, a commodities broker. She also had one sister named Eva. Leiber was sent to
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
in 1938 by her family to study chemistry for the cosmetics industry, in part since her father thought she would be safer in London in the case of a war. She returned to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
before World War II, where thanks to family connections she obtained a traineeship at a handbag company, where she learned to cut and mold leather, make patterns, frame and stitch bags. She was the first woman graduated to master craftswoman, becoming the first woman to join the Hungarian Handbag Guild in Budapest. She avoided Nazi persecution when she escaped the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to the safety of a house set aside for Swiss citizens, when her father, a Hungarian Jew who managed the grain department of a bank, was able to obtain a Swiss ''schutzpass'', a document that gave the bearer safe passage. This pass is on view at the Holocaust Museum in
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. The flat where Leiber survived the war housed 26 people. In December 1944, those living in the apartment were taken to one of the Hungarian Nazi-run ghettos. After the liberation of
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, Leiber's family moved into a basement with 60 other people. In 1946, she married Gerson Leiber (Gus), who was a sergeant in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
serving in Eastern Europe. They met when she was making purses for the secretaries of the American Legation in Budapest, and they moved to New York City in 1947. He was an abstract expressionist painter, member of the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
, with some of his works displayed at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
, the
Smithsonian Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trus ...
, the
Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...
in Jerusalem, and other institutions.


Fashion career

After working as a handbag designer for other companies, Leiber founded her own business in 1963. She is known for her crystal ''minaudières'', evening purses made of a metal shell often encrusted with
Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Tyrol. It was founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glas ...
crystals, plated with silver or gold and with various forms, such as baby pigs, slices of watermelon, cupcakes, peacocks, penguins, and snakes. Sold at exclusive boutiques around the world, her purses may cost up to several thousand dollars and have become a status symbol for many women, including several Presidential First Ladies to whom she has given them as a present, from
Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in Colo ...
to
Barbara Bush Barbara Bush (; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. She was previously second lady of the United States fr ...
and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. Animals are a recurring theme in her designs, and often ornament the most expensive purses of the collection, with prices on some animal-shaped minaudières exceeding US$7,000. Some wealthy women collect them; Bernice Norman, an arts patron in New Orleans, owns close to 300 of the Leiber bags. In 1992, Leiber received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
. In 1994, Leiber received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers. She retired in 1998. In September 2008, she was rated the most prestigious luxury handbag brand for the second year running by the New York-based Luxury Institute. In 2010, Leiber received
Visionary Woman Award
from Moore College of Art & Design. Examples of her work can be found in the permanent collections of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
in Washington, DC, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York City, and the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in London. The
Taubman Museum of Art The Taubman Museum of Art, formerly the Art Museum of Western Virginia, is an art museum in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Formally established in 1951, the museum was housed in several locations around Roanoke before moving in 2008 t ...
in Roanoke, Virginia, has had a gallery of her work on display since it opened in 2008. The Leibers bought property in
Springs, New York Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ...
in 1956 and it became their primary residence in 2011. In 2005 they opened the Leiber Museum across the street from their home to display the bags as well as paintings by Gerson Leiber. The Leibers sought to buy back an example of all of the purses to be displayed at the museum. The museum also displays various awards including the 1973
Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awards we ...
.


Stores

The Judith Leiber boutiques are exclusive as there are only four in the world. They are located in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
,
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
. However, some of her collection is available at selected fashion stores like
Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus is an American department store chain founded in 1907 in Dallas, Texas by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband Abraham Lincoln Neiman. It has been owned by Saks Global, a Corporate spin-off, spin-o ...
,
Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Group Limited ( trading as Harvey Nichols) is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831 by Benjamin Harvey; it is headquartered at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections ...
,
Lane Crawford Lane Crawford (HK) Limited () is a retail company founded in 1850 operating specialist department stores selling luxury goods in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is headquartered in , Wong Chuk Hang. Lane Crawford is a part of the Lane Crawfo ...
,
Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (Trade name, doing business as Holt Renfrew and Colloquialism, colloquially Holt's) is a Economy of Canada, Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton ...
,
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
, and
Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...
.


Death

Leiber died at her home in
Springs, New York Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ...
, on April 28, 2018, just a few hours after her husband Gerson Leiber had died.


References


External links


Judith Leiber Official Site

The Leiber Collection - Judith and Gerson Leiber's websiteThe Bag Lady of Park Avenue - Moment Magazine profile of Judith Leiber
* * http://agingandcreativity.blogspot.com/2013/11/an-interview-with-judith-leiber-from.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Leiber, Judith 1921 births 2018 deaths American businesspeople in fashion American fashion designers American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American women fashion designers High fashion brands Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian Jews Jewish fashion designers Businesspeople from Budapest 21st-century American women