L.A. Native and friend Ashlee Margolis killed it last with a huge celebrity turn out at the new Judith Leiber store opening on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. She threw the party along with Judith Leiber’s PR team and their New York PR agency, Company Agenda. Fellow LA Natives in attendance: jewelry designer Anita Ko, Daniel Landver, CEO for Lucas Design, actress Paula Patton (Harvard Westlake), Jessica Capshaw (Harvard Westlake ’94), Desiree Kohan (Beverly Hills High), owner of chic boutique Des Kohan, and The A Lists’ Candice Tab who grew up in Malibu. Other Angelenos we love included Cameron Silver (Decades on Melrose), Ashley Paige (bikini designer), Negar Ali (stylist) and Chris Huvane. Other celebrities included Ginnifer Goodwin, Amber Valletta, Katie Cassidy, Gabrielle Union, Jenna Dewan, Anne Heche and Sanaa Lathan. Also in attendance were uber-stylists to the stars Jessica Pastor, Penny Lovell, Tanya Gill, Wendi Ferreira, Tara Sweenen and Vincent Boucher. I also saw Brooke Davenporte, Kathy + Rick Hilton, designer Magda Berliner, celebrity hair stylist Anthony Francis, and shoe designers Jerome C. Rousseau and Taryn Rose.
I was ecstatic to get an invite as Judith Leiber was something I grew up being taught was a life necessity!! My mother use to buy me the mini JL coin purses every time she would walk through Neiman Marcus in search of a new bag. I am always excited to find myself growing into my mother’s Maude Frisson shoes and in this case – her Judith Leiber accessories.
Following store openings in New Dehli, India and Dubai, UAE, last week, long time bag and belt maker Judith Leiber joined the ranks of Rodeo Drive storefronts opening their first ever Beverly Hills boutique across from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on via Rodeo.
Judith Leiber’s crystal minaudières are a well-recognized hit on red carpets and white table clothes at parties. The fall bags are now out and are inspired by the 70′s and Art Deco. The new designs feature square silhouettes for the “Wrap Clutch” and “Rectangle,” held by Paula Patton (above). To show off the bags this fashion week, Judith Leiber collaborated with designer Cho Cheng who featured the handbags on the runway at Bryant Park this month with his SS10 line. Cho Cheng is a secret treasure of the couture set - Cheng inherited his love of fashion from his grandmother, Betty Char-Nuis Yan, the acclaimed couturier who founded the famed Betty Couture at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong in 1960. The Cho Cheng show was opened by socialite & model Lydia Hearst and closed by fav-model-of-the-moment Coca Rocha.
Lydia Hearst (left) opened the Cho Cheng’s SS10 show in Bryant Park this month. Coca Rocha closed the show (left, with designer). Judith Leiber ”Rectangle” bags were featured in the show (center).
Special services at the Beverly Hills store will include personal shopping and as always – complimentary repairs. My mother made it a point to tell me when I started writing this post that she still brings her belts and bags in to have the jewels replaced and leather polished up and they are always happy to do so at no cost! Judith Leiber President, Mary Gleason, says “Judith Leiber is the bag of choice for style setters, First Ladies, and royalty.”I’d like to think so – the collectible handbags are part of the permanent design collections in my mother’s wardrobe as well as The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Smithsonian Institute.
Inside the new Judith Leiber store in Rodeo Drive
220 North Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone: 310-888-8852
Email: info@judithleiberla.com
Website: www.judithleiber.com
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Store Manager: Thomas Joyce
*Other U.S. stores include South Coast Plaza, Las Vegas and flagship store in Manhattan.
