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2026-10-10
Selected posters from The Public Theater identity system, designed by Paula Scher while at Pentagram. Reproduced for editorial commentary. All original artwork © their respective copyright holders.
Judith Leiber
This is
Judith was born in Budapest in 1921. During the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Judith and her family were forced into the Budapest Ghetto.
She sewed handbags underground during air raids, escaped the Holocaust — and made beauty her legacy.
The trauma never left her. Her Jewish identity — as a woman, a survivor, and a creator — was central
to her outlook, especially in her artistic devotion to legacy, beauty, and resilience.
In New York, Judith began designing handbags for brands like Nettie Rosenstein — her evening bags were worn by Mamie Eisenhower at her husband’s 1953 inauguration.
In 1963, she launched her own brand, Judith Leiber.
Judith became globally known for her “minaudières”. Small, jewel-encrusted evening bags. They were handmade with thousands of crystals, often whimsical, always exquisite.
Her bags have been carried by every First Lady from Mamie Eisenhower to Hillary Clinton; Celebrities like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Sarah Jessica Parker; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian permanent collections.
She never shouted. She shimmered. She made Jewish femininity a thing of global awe and turned trauma into treasure. Her handbags didn’t just carry things — they carried history.
"I am a survivor. My survival is glittered into everything I make." Judith Lieber
Paula Scher. Design Matters Live interview with Debbie Millman. PRINT Magazine, 2018.
FURTHER READINGS
SOURCES
Quietly Iconic is an editorial series by Meesh Meesh, celebrating Jewish creatives whose work has quietly shaped culture. Because sometimes the people who change the world aren't the loudest voices in the room.
A SERIES BY MEESH MEESH
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