Judith Leiber, recipient of the Accessories Hall of Fame Award, has always been best known for her bejeweled handbags and minaudières. Her work has become part of the permanent collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Houston Museum of Fine Art and the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Her handbags have passed through the hands of every First Lady since Mamie Eisenhower, and continue to be the choice of celebrities and royalty on red carpets all over the world. Leiber is now a 44-year-old American luxury brand, whose works, along with those of Tiffany, Lalique, and Cartier, have come to be accepted as art.
American Indian-inspired JL 1416 for her (left); Art Deco-inspired JLM 2001 for him.
Under a special licensing agreement with Legacie, the luxury house of B. Robinson, the Leiber eyewear collection has garnered unprecedented recognition and success as a faithful translation of Leiber’s renowned, spectacular artworks. The Leiber Men’s Eyewear Collection marks Leiber’s first foray into the men’s accessory market with four handmade, gold-filled styles. The sunglass is an edgy, modified aviator with polarized lenses available in three finishes—yellow gold, white gold, and hematite. Elegant, masculine oval temples are discreetly studded with Austrian crystals, onyx, and obsidian cloisonné.
Leiber, who customarily experimented with exotic skins such as ostrich, peacock, karung, and ring lizard in other collections, continues to set the standard for innovation by bringing a new dynamic, which until now, has been unavailable to men. Other styles in the men’s collection feature hand-set cat’s eye and lapis lazuli. When combined with intricate, expert craftsmanship, they create a streamlined male jewelry aesthetic that is unique to the world of eyewear.
As the perfect complement to Leiber’s American Indian- and Art Deco-inspired collections for women, the men’s collection speaks to the progressive gentleman with elegance and a touch of Thomas Crown adventure. It is, according to Frank Zambrelli, President and Creative Director of Leiber, “a real tribute to the legacy of the brand and its universal and lasting appeal among the luxury consumer.”