Do the dog
For Chinese New Year, Judith Leiber Couture has come out with canine-shaped clutch bags
Marking the Year of the Dog, man’s best friend becomes a recurring motif on fashion designs, including those for coveted arm candy.
Judith Leiber Couture’s canine clutch bags include Lucky, Buster, Esther, Fred and the new pup, Charlie, from the current collection.
The crystal minaudières represent a different breed with their designs.
Looking up at you, Charlie seems like a smart Yorkshire terrier fully beaded with fine multicolour Austrian crystals and a red ribbon on its head.
Adorable Dalmatian puppy Lucky has a red-crystal collar, whereas Esther the dachshund is elegantly dressed in a coat with red floral motif, and has a red bow tied around its neck and tail.
The red elements further make the three pooch purses relevant to the Chinese New Year.
Other options include timid French bulldogs designed in different colours and glittering materials, named Fred, Pierre and Maxine.
Taking up to six weeks, the artful clutches are still crafted in Italy, where the first Judith Leiber metal bag called the Chatelaine with crystal rhinestones was made in 1967, four years after Lieber founded her eponymous company.
From the first-round purse, the Hungarian-born bag designer imaginatively created classic as well as quirky novelties shaped after various objects, plants and animals, carried by royalty, first ladies and Hollywood stars. They are also collector’s items and objets d’art displayed in museums.
Her first dog bag was a pug, followed by other renditions of tail-waggers that continue to appear in new collections, now under the Judith Leiber Couture brand, after the retirement of the luxury handbag icon, now in her mid-90s.
Originally strictly glamorous evening bags, the clutches can be carried or suspended from a chain strap as an everyday accessory, with the dog serving as favoured companion.