Fashion is cyclical, and so are the cultural cues that drive what we wear. After years of minimalism, quiet luxury, and the ‘clean girl‘ aesthetic, a growing faction of fashion consumers, especially Gen Z, are craving the camp, color, and humor that Judith Leiber provides. Lindsay Lohan leads the brand’s red carpet revival, as she […]
Menej ako 1 min. min.
Fashion is cyclical, and so are the cultural cues that drive what we wear. After years of minimalism, quiet luxury, and the ‘clean girl‘ aesthetic, a growing faction of fashion consumers, especially Gen Z, are craving the camp, color, and humor that Judith Leiber provides.
Lindsay Lohan leads the brand’s red carpet revival, as she stuns in not one but two Judith Leiber bags during her Freakier Friday press tour. Just last week, the actor sported the brand’s “Microphone Karaoke” bag at the Freakier Friday premiere in Los Angeles. If the bag looks familiar, that’s because the same style made headlines last year after it was acquired by Taylor Swift, who was gifted the same clutch as a birthday present from the owners of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Judith Leiber launched her eponymous label in 1963, using techniques she had learned in Europe combined with a distinctly American flair for glamour. From the outset, her handbags stood apart—while other designers leaned into leather and functionality, Leiber crafted small, luxurious evening bags with intricate detail and unapologetic playfulness.
In 1967, Leiber hated the monotony of her metal bags, so she began covering them in Austrian Swarovski crystals. This creative shift marked the birth of her signature style: the crystal minaudière—small, sculptural clutches often shaped like animals, fruits, cupcakes, or cultural symbols. Her pieces became recognized not just as accessories but as wearable art.
Each piece is handmade and takes over a week to complete, involving brass casting, hand-painting, crystal-setting, and lining in Italian lambskin.
Judith Leiber’s crystal minaudières became a staple of American political glamour thanks to their close association with U.S. First Ladies. Beginning with Mamie Eisenhower, and continuing through Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush, nearly every First Lady since the 1950s has carried a custom Judith Leiber handbag to an Inaugural Ball or other high-profile event. Many of these presidential bags now reside in the Smithsonian Institution, preserved as part of the official visual history of American fashion and politics.
Although she retired from designing handbags in 1998, many of Leiber’s most famous lines, including the classic beaded Chatelaine, are still in production and have sustained their cultural relevance. In the Sex and the City series, Big gives Carrie a Judith Leiber swan clutch. His idea of romance, her idea of a fashion emergency, and what’s meant to be a sweet gesture turn into a full-blown argument. Later, in the movie, Charlotte’s daughter drops Carrie’s phone into a Leiber cupcake clutch, and Big’s cold feet never reach her.
Similar to the recent Louboutin comeback, the brand has leaned into both its archival history and playful modern relevance under Creative Director Jana Matheson. Recent years have seen several re-editions of the classic minaudières, collaborations with high-end stylists and influencers, and an overall renewed focus on camp, maximalism, and red-carpet glam during the current 2000s revival.
Even auction houses have taken note of its renewed relevance, as Leiber’s archival clutches become collectors‘ gold. In 2023, the Leiber cupcake clutch from the Sex and the City film sold for 2x its retail value at Sotheby’s online auction. Simultaneously, institutions like The Met and SCAD FASH have started re-exhibiting Leiber’s works, further verifying Judith Leiber’s place as a cultural icon that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
