The piece in question was named the Chatelaine, and the design was a graceful drop-shaped purse in gold-tinted metal. In 1967, she began working on her first metal handbag.
These dazzling objets d’art have been regularly seen in the hands of First Ladies, movie stars on the red carpet and even in the prestigious collections of institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Like many pathbreaking inventions in the history of design, Leiber’s minaudières were the result of a happy accident. The Hungarian-born designer made minaudières (small, decorative handbags, often without handles or a strap) in the form of crystal-covered swans, cupcakes, lipstick, wads of cash, teddy bears and other delightful objects. When it comes to handbags, no designer can compete with Judith Leiber’s (1921–2018) ability to create magic using opulent crystals and wildly imaginative and playful shapes.
