Irene Saltern
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Irene Saltern (1911–2005, born Irene Stern) was an American
costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...
and
fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...
.Guide to the Irene Saltern Salinger Papers MS.P.059, UCI Libraries finding aid, Online Archive of California, https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0c6022rp/entire_text/. Named one of the top seven costume designers of the
Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome, Stroud#Golden Val ...
by the
Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
in 1999,Bashir, Lori, “When Glamour Reigned: Hollywood Designer Irene Saltern Revisits the Glory Days,” ''Orange County Register'', Accent Section, November 11, 1999, p. 1, https://orangecountyregister.newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register/1999-11-11/page-81/ Saltern dressed more than 150 actresses in more than 50 films.''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures 1931–1940'', University of California Press, 1993, p. 602, ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures 1941–1950'', University of California Press, 1999, p. 620, She later spent 37 years working in commercial fashion design and is known for fashion innovations such as coordinated women's separates and bringing the California “sportswear” fashion aesthetic to wider markets. “Saltern, Irene,” Vintage Fashion Guild, https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/saltern-irene/


Early years

On January 30, 1911, Irene Saltern was born in Berlin to Jewish parents, Adolf Stern and Elsbeth Salomon Stern. The Stern family had a summer home in Caputh, Germany, where
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and his wife were neighbors and close family friends. Einstein taught Irene to sail as a teenager and later attended her engagement party in 1932.“Caputher Sterne,” Jüdisches Museum Berlin Journal, no. 25, 2023, p. 32, https://www.jmberlin.de/en/jmb-journal Saltern, Irene, “Die große Hutbewegung” he Great Hat Movement ''Die Junge Dame'', July 30, 1933; Jüdisches Museum Berlin, https://www.jmberlin.de/1933/en/07_30_the-great-hat-movement-by-irene-salinger-in-the-magazine-die-junge-dame.php Rueff, Roger, “Sailing with Einstein,“ Soul of Your Story Academy, April 14, 2014, https://soulofyourstory.com/sailing-with-einstein/ “Tabak,” Vintage Fashion Guild, https://vintagefashionguild.org/resources/item/label/tabak/ After high school, Saltern attended art schools and universities in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, studying fashion design (dressmaking, fabrics and materials, and color composition) and news and fashion writing. While still in school, she designed the Venus bathing suits for the Maratti Company. She married the judge Dr. Harry Salinger (1894–1982) in 1933. While Irene and Harry were on their honeymoon in 1933,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
came to power and both Harry and her father, a Berlin state architect (''Regierungsbaumeister''), were fired for being Jewish. Between 1933 and 1936, she travelled throughout Europe and neighboring countries while working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcasting stations. She wrote fashion and women's advice columns and reported on people, fashions, sports, and society in French, English, and German, under the professional name Saltern, a combination of Salinger and Stern. In 1936, she and her husband Harry immigrated to the United States aboard the S.S. Normandie. They eventually settled in Los Angeles, where they joined Saltern's sister Inge, a professional photographer who had immigrated two years earlier.


Hollywood costume design

Two months after arriving in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
, Saltern was hired to work in
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
’ publicity department, thanks to an introduction from
Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dollars), Max Fa ...
’s son-in-law, whom she met at a German expat party.Bryant, Kathy, “What Goes Around: From Movie Studios to Private Labels, Irene Salinger Has Seen It All Before,” ''Los Angeles Times'', September 14, 1995, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-14-ls-45832-story.html In late 1937, Saltern was hired as a costume designer at
Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...
, where she created costumes for 34 movies in less than two years.Bryant, Kathy, “Lights, Camera, Action: Designer Irene Salinger's Designs Are as Haute Today as Ever,” California Homes and Lifestyles, August 1991 Between 1940 and 1942, she was head of wardrobe design at Samuel Goldwyn Pictures as well as worked on films for the Paramount, Hal Roach, Frank Lloyd, Universal, and Columbia studios. During this period, she worked with directors including
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
and
Jack Skirball Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985) was an American film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist and rabbi. Early life Jack H. Skirball was born in 1896 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. His father was an immigrant from Czec ...
and designed costumes for
Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...
,
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
,
Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...
,
Martha Scott Martha Ellen Scott (September 22, 1912 – May 28, 2003) was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille’s '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), and William Wyler's ''Ben-Hur'' (1959). Martha played the mother of ...
,
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
, and dancer
Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American actress and dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the classical Hollywood cinema musical film, musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early fi ...
, among other actors. In 1942, the New York Museum of Costume named Saltern one of 10 outstanding Hollywood designers, along with
Edith Head Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...
, Dolly Tree, Irene Lentz Gibbons, Howard Greer, Travis Banton, Edward Stevenson, Avis Caminez, and Jack Huston.Smyth, J.E., Nobody's Girl Friday: The Women Who Ran Hollywood, Oxford University Press, 2018, p. 193,


World War II era

When the US
War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Su ...
issued guidelines for clothing rationing in 1942 (General Limitation Order L-85),“War Production Board Regulations,” ''Federal Register'', vol. 7, no. 70, April 10, 1942, https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/fedreg/fr007/fr007070/fr007070.pdf the board invited Hollywood designers, including Saltern, to create fashions that complied with the new restrictions on fabric. Saltern's designs for the contest were then used for Priscilla Lane's costumes in Hitchcock's film ''
Saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization, destabilization, division, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''sabo ...
''.Bailey, Gertrude, “Hollywood Saves Cloth Ingeniously: Soft Draping Makes a Little Fabric Go Far,” ''New York World Telegram'', May 13, 1942Hannon, Laura Bellew, “The Stylish Battle, World War II and Clothing Design Restrictions in Los Angeles,” doctoral dissertation, University of California, Riverside, December 2012 https://escholarship.org/content/qt8469r3zg/qt8469r3zg_noSplash_c9deb431754f2a3c5d3a062ba2917d67.pdf Also in this period, she began designing commercially, including frocks for the Hollywood Premiere label and overalls for Sun Rose. In an effort to raise money to get other family members out of Europe, Saltern also started several businesses, including a company selling snoods (decorative hairnets) that used
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
and other Hollywood stars as models and a fashion doll company promoted by Ginger Rogers. She also was the fashion editor of the ''Silhouette'' style magazine for department stores, created personal wardrobes for Hollywood stars such as Martha Scott and
Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, model, and singer. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s and starred in more than 20 films throughout her career. R ...
, and designed costumes for the
Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...
and other California theaters.


Commercial fashion design

Moving full time into commercial
fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
, Saltern worked as head designer at Tabak of California from 1950–1954 and 1958–1966. Her designs introduced design elements to retail fashion previously utilized in the film industry. Examples include the use of optical illusion, or the use of styles, fabrics, and colors to create a slimming or silhouette effect. Hammond, Fay, “Sportwear Designer Uses ‘Optical Illusion,’” ''Los Angeles Times'', October 11, 1944, part II, p. 6 This technique was used in Hollywood costume design to counteract the lens distortion effect caused by wide-angle cameras. Saltern is known for introducing career pantsuits for women and both the designs and merchandising concept for women's coordinated separates in the 1940s and 1950s. Saltern's Tabak Tie-Ins line in particular introduced coordinated separates, mix and match slacks, playsuits, shorts, full and slim skirts, blouses, sweaters, dresses, and jackets to fit women of various sizes and shapes. From 1954–1957, Saltern launched her own company, TomBarry, under which she developed the Irene Saltern brand. Before her retirement in 1979, Saltern also designed for Phil Rose, Sir James, Lanz-Alexa/Tonino, FigureMate, Pant Pouri (Lady R), City Girl, Cynaya, Nemy, Cheeks, Dizzy's Place, and Disegni.


Death

Irene Saltern died on September 4, 2005 in
Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...
, at the age of 94.


Hollywood films and productions

Irene Saltern's designs included costumes for the following actors and films, among others: *
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
as Gwen Manders in '' Raffles'', 1939 *
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...
as Matt Howard in ''
The Howards of Virginia ''The Howards of Virginia'' is a 1940 American drama war western film directed by Frank Lloyd, released by Columbia Pictures, and based on the book ''The Tree of Liberty'' written by Elizabeth Page. The Howards of Virginia live through the Amer ...
'', 1940 *
Martha Scott Martha Ellen Scott (September 22, 1912 – May 28, 2003) was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille’s '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), and William Wyler's ''Ben-Hur'' (1959). Martha played the mother of ...
as Jane Peyton in ''
The Howards of Virginia ''The Howards of Virginia'' is a 1940 American drama war western film directed by Frank Lloyd, released by Columbia Pictures, and based on the book ''The Tree of Liberty'' written by Elizabeth Page. The Howards of Virginia live through the Amer ...
'', 1940; as Marta Keller in ''
They Dare Not Love ''They Dare Not Love'' is a 1941 American romantic war drama film directed by James Whale and starring George Brent, Martha Scott and Paul Lukas. Whale left the picture before the end of production; it was the last film released to credit hi ...
'', 1941; and as Ella Bishop in ''
Cheers for Miss Bishop ''Cheers for Miss Bishop'' is a 1941 American drama film based on the novel ''Miss Bishop'' by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It was directed by Tay Garnett, produced by Richard A. Rowland and released through United Artists. Martha Scott stars in the ...
'', 1941 *
Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...
as Lady Hamilton in ''
That Hamilton Woman ''That Hamilton Woman'', also known as ''Lady Hamilton'', is a 1941 black-and-white historical film drama produced and directed by Alexander Korda for his British company during his exile in the United States. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, th ...
'', 1941 *
Ann Miller Ann Miller (born Johnnie Lucille Collier; April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004) was an American actress and dancer. She is best remembered for her work in the classical Hollywood cinema musical film, musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Her early fi ...
as Kitty Brown in ''
Time Out for Rhythm ''Time Out for Rhythm'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Sidney Salkow and starring Rudy Vallée, Ann Miller and the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard). It was based on the stage musical ''Show Business'' ...
'', 1941 *
Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...
as Ruth Holland in '' So Ends Our Night'', 1941 *
Jane Withers Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show hostess. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list fo ...
as Penny Wood in ''
Her First Beau ''Her First Beau'' is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed by Theodore Reed and starring Jane Withers, Jackie Cooper and Edith Fellows . The film was produced by Columbia Pictures, and the screenplay was written by Gladys Lehman and Karen D ...
'', 1941 *
Priscilla Lane Priscilla Lane (born Priscilla Mullican; June 12, 1915 – April 4, 1995) was an American actress, and the youngest sibling in the Lane Sisters' family of singers and actresses. She is best remembered for her roles in the films '' The Roaring ...
as Patricia (Pat) Martin in ''
Saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization, destabilization, division, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''sabo ...
'', 1942


Exhibitions and museum collections

Saltern's design and sketches have been featured in numerous museum and library exhibitions: * “Hollywood and History: Costume Design in Film,”
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
, 1987 *
Puttin’ on the Glitz: Hollywood's Influence on Fashion
” UCI Libraries, October 2010 * “The Origins of Screen Style: The Leonard Stanley Archive,”
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
, November 1999 *
California Design, 1930–1965, Living in a Modern Way
Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galle ...
, November 2013 *
Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood
Museum of Brisbane, November 2014 *
Reading LACMA Objects as Products of Essential Agricultural Work

Unframed.lacma.org
September 2020 More than 100 of her costume design sketch boards, 2,600 of her commercial sketches, and 1,200 publicity photos of film costumes and commercial designs are held in the Irene Saltern Salinger Papers within th
Special Collections and Archives at the University of California, Irvine Libraries
Additional designs and sketches are part of the permanent collections at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
,“L.A. As Subject,” archival collection, USC Libraries, https://laassubject.org/directory/profile/woodbury-university
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
,Irene Saltern, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, https://collections.lacma.org/search/site/irene%2520saltern Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum, “West Coast Mod,” Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum, https://fidmmuseum.org/2015/11/23-24-234.html and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A collection of clothing designed by Saltern as well as family archival material is held in the
Jewish Museum Berlin The Jewish Museum Berlin (''Jüdisches Museum Berlin'') was opened in 2001 and is the largest Jewish museum in Europe. On of floor space, the museum presents the history of the Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day, with new foc ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saltern, Irene 1911 births 2005 deaths American costume designers American fashion designers