Judith Leiber has turned the handbag into an art form, her solutions eminently practical. Designed to store a lady's necessaries', her rich collections of bags are hand-fashioned in snake, alligator, ostrich, silkskins and silk and adorned with rhinestones and semi-precious stones. Her minaudieres, ornately jewelled handbags often referred to as luminous minisculptures, are gold or silver plated and encrusted with as many as 12,000 brilliantly coloured Australian rhinestones applied individually by hand. Initially added to cover up the imperfections of European plating, the gems give entire bags colour and lustre. Her artistry has often been accused of upstaging the most opulent ball gowns and she is known as the "Couturier of Handbags".

Seated across the table in her expansive showroom, Judith Leiber exudes an air of confidence that one immediately knows is not misplaced. For over 25 years as the creative head and business director of her highly acclaimed accessories firm, she has maintained any unyielding appreciation for the calibre of her eye. "I don't belabour anything. If I find that a concept doesn't work immediately, it's not worth pursuing. There are too many fantastic ideas out there to waste time on one that isn't entirely satisfactory."

Leiber finds inspiration "everywhere - in architecture, in dresses and furniture, paintings," in antiques, exhibitions and her extensive personal library. Her exquisite imagination shapes bags into envelopes and animals, fanciful fruit, silk sacks and figurines.

"All you need in the evening is a lipstick, a hundred dollar bill and a handkerchief, and you're ready to go anywhere," see Lieber. "My bags are mostly practical little boxes, usually with a drop shoulder strap so ladies can gracefully hold a glass and have a snack while balancing their bag," she adds proudly.