After working as a handbag designer for other companies, Judith Leiber founded her own business in 1963. Sold at exclusive boutiques around the world, her handbags cost several thousand dollars and have become a status symbol for many women including several Presidential First Ladies.
Judith Leiber 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. This pass is on view at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.
Leiber's discerning style and meticulous handiwork shows in her eyewear. The result is beautiful and unique eyewear made to be appreciated. Themes in art including Cubism and Art Deco have inspired Judith Leiber's lines of sunglasses and eyeglasses. Judith Leiber is truly an iconic American brand and each work of Art that bears her name only gets better with time!