Brilliant by Design: The Handbags of Judith Leiber

Inspired by a recent gift to the museum, this exhibition brings together more than 100 handbags and accessories, presented alongside fashions from The Mint Museum’s collection, to explore both the brilliance of their design and the remarkable life of their creator.
Working first in leather and later pioneering metal minaudières (a small, hard-sided, jewel-like evening handbag) beginning in 1967, Leiber produced handbags that were sculptural, whimsical, and technically dazzling. Her designs—ranging from fantastical animals to architectural inspirations—quickly became coveted collector’s items.

Featuring handbags crafted in both leather and metal, Brilliant by Design highlights the extraordinary range of Leiber’s vision and craftsmanship. Several rare examples are included, such as a purse constructed from an actual shell and a box inspired by a Tiffany mosaic ceiling. Placed in dialogue with garments from The Mint Museum’s collection, the exhibition invites visitors to reconsider the role of accessories in fashion history and to recognize Judith Leiber’s transformative impact on the field.

The exhibition is curated by Bridget Kerr, Fashion Fellow at The Mint Museum. It is accompanied by a richly illustrated publication of the same title, authored by Kerr with contributions by Annie Carlano, Dr. Hilary Davidson, and Olympia Le-Tan and published by Yale University Press, offering new scholarship and deeper insight into the remarkable objects and their visionary creator.

About the designer
Born Judith Petö in Budapest, Hungary, in 1921, Leiber came of age in a Europe increasingly shaped by antisemitism. Originally planning to study chemistry in London, her ambitions were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Instead, she entered the handbag guild—one of the few professional paths open to Jews in Hungary at the time. Beginning as the only female apprentice in the guild, she rose to become a master craftswoman, developing the meticulous technical skills that would later define her career.
After surviving the Holocaust, Leiber immigrated with her husband, Gerson Leiber, to the United States in early 1947 where she built a career in the American handbag industry before founding her eponymous brand in 1963. As head of her own company, she gave full expression to her boundless creativity. Spanning more than four decades, Leiber’s career reshaped the landscape of luxury accessories. This exhibition examines the enduring influence of her innovations and her lasting legacy in design.