Judith Leiber's Jeweled Handbags Land at Mint Museum Randolph

Roughly 100 handbags by the Hungarian-born accessory designer Judith Leiber go on view at the Mint Museum Randolph in "Brilliant by Design: The Handbags of Judith Leiber," running October 24, 2026 through July 3, 2027 at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Leiber's evening clutches, encrusted with jewels and often shaped as animals or food, became a signature for women who knew they were being watched. Curator Bridget Kerr said Leiber "elevated the handbag from an accessory to an artistic statement," crediting both the technical ingenuity of the designs and the perseverance of a woman whose creativity and entrepreneurial drive reshaped luxury fashion. Leiber was a Holocaust survivor who at one point during the war shared a basement with 60 other people; she had intended to study chemistry but turned to bag-making as Nazi persecution closed off educational paths for Jews. Objects in the show include Jana Matheson's Judith Leiber Couture Pink Ringaling Rotary Phone Minaudiere, a Butterfly Pillbox and a Tiffany Mosaic Ceiling Minaudiere. In a 2013 interview with Jewish Women International, Leiber summed up her philosophy: "All you need is lipstick, a compact, and a $100 bill."