Judith Leiber

Judith Leiber (born Judit Pető; January 11, 1921 – April 28, 2018) was a Hungarian-American fashion designer and businesswoman.

Life and career Leiber was born Judit Pető in 1921 in Budapest, Hungary, to Helene, a Vienna-born homemaker, and Emil, a commodities broker, both of Hungarian-Jewish descent. She also had one sister named Eva. Leiber was sent to King's College London in 1938 by her family to study chemistry for the cosmetics industry, in part since her father thought she would be safer in London in the case of a war.

She returned to Hungary before World War II, where thanks to family connections

She avoided Nazi persecution when she escaped the Holocaust of World War II to the safety of a house set aside for Swiss citizens, when her father, a Hungarian Jew who managed the grain department of a bank, was able to obtain a Swiss , a document that gave the bearer safe passage. This pass is on view at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. The flat where Leiber survived the war housed 26 people.

In December 1944, those living in the apartment were taken to one of the Hungarian Nazi-run ghettos. After the liberation of Hungary by the Red Army, Leiber's family moved into a basement with 60 other people. In 2010, Leiber received a Visionary Woman Award from Moore College of Art & Design. Examples of her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Virginia, has had a gallery of her work on display since it opened in 2008.

The Leibers bought property in Springs, New York in 1956 and it became their primary residence in 2011. In 2005 they opened the Leiber Museum across the street from their home to display the bags as well as paintings by Gerson Leiber. The Leibers sought to buy back an example of all of the purses to be displayed at the museum. The museum also displays various awards including the 1973 Coty Award.

Stores The Judith Leiber boutiques are exclusive as there are only four in the world. They are located in New Delhi, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. However, some of her collection is available at selected fashion stores like Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew, Harrods, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Death Leiber died at her home in Springs, New York, on April 28, 2018, just a few hours after her husband Gerson Leiber had died.