Judith Leiber’s Modern Pivot Draws New Generation of Fans

As the creative director and co-owner of Judith Leiber, Dee Ocleppo Hilfiger, by her own account, “gets to play with glitter and sparkles every day.” The designer, in partnership with Authentic Brands Group, has renewed the luxury evening bag brand — leaving behind most of its uptown iconoclast mallard and poodle-shaped minaudières to make room for cheeky styles that reflect today’s zeitgeist. The brand says these efforts are quickly paying off, reporting that revenue is up some 20 percent since 2017. Ocleppo Hilfiger’s husband, Tommy Hilfiger, said that e-commerce sales at JudithLeiber.com outpaced projections by 100 percent in the last two quarters of 2018. The brand is now carried in some 250 doors worldwide and department store sales have increased by 25 percent year-over-year. ABG acquired the Leiber business in April 2013 and Ocleppo Hilfiger joined  in 2017, aiming to freshen up what had become a cocktail party institution. Through collaborations with Alexander Wang, Disney, artist Ashley Longshore — and soon collections with the Warhol Foundation and the graffiti artist Kenny Scharf — Ocleppo Hilfiger has grown brand equity among a new generation of clientele. The brand’s collaboration with Wang — stylized as a sparkly roll of money — sold out in under

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