Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Irene Maud Lentz (December 8, 1901 – November 15, 1962) also known mononymously and professionally as Irene, was an American fashion designer and costume designer. Her work as a clothing designer in Los Angeles led to her career as a costume designer for films in the 1930s. Lentz also worked under the name Irene Gibbons.
Lentz had been taught sewing as a child and, with a flair for style, she decided to open a small dress shop. The success of her designs in her tiny store eventually led to an offer from the Bullocks Wilshire luxury department store to design for their Ladies Custom Salon which catered to a wealthy clientele including a number of Hollywood stars.
Lentz's designs at Bullocks gained her much attention in the film community and she was contracted by independent production companies to design the wardrobe for some of their productions. Billing herself simply as "Irene", her first work came in 1933 on the film Goldie Gets Along featuring her designs for star Lily Damita. However, her big break came when she was hired to create the gowns for Ginger Rogers for her 1937 film Shall We Dance with Fred Astaire. This was followed by more designs in another Ginger Rogers film as well as work for other independents such as Walter Wanger Productions, Hal Roach Studios as well as majors such as RKO, Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. During the 1930s, Irene Lentz designed the film wardrobe for leading ladies such as Constance Bennett, Hedy Lamarr, Joan Bennett, Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Ingrid Bergman, and Loretta Young among others. She "is generally regarded as the originator of the dressmaker suit" that was popular in the late 1930s.
Through her work, Lentz met and married short story author and screenwriter Eliot Gibbons, brother of multi-Academy Award winning Cedric Gibbons, head of art direction at MGM Studios. Despite her success, working under the powerful set designer Cedric while being married to his brother Eliot was not easy. Irene confided to her close friend Doris Day that the marriage to Eliot was not a happy one. Generally regarded as the most important and influential production designer in the history of American films, Cedric Gibbons hired Lentz when gown designer Adrian left MGM in 1941 to open his own fashion house. By 1943 she was a leading costume supervisor at MGM, earning international recognition for her "soufflé creations" and is remembered for her avant-garde wardrobe for Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).
In 1950, Lentz left MGM to open her own fashion house. After Lentz was out of the film industry for nearly ten years, Doris Day requested her services for the production Midnight Lace (Universal, 1960). The following year she did the costume design for another Day film, Lover Come Back (1961), and during 1962 worked on her last production, A Gathering of Eagles (1963).
Lentz was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White for B.F.'s Daughter (1948). She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color for Midnight Lace (1960).
Filmography
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Movies 150
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A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

Lover Come Back (1961)

Midnight Lace (1960)

Shadow on the Wall (1950)

Please Believe Me (1950)

Key to the City (1950)

In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

Scene of the Crime (1949)

The Great Sinner (1949)

Neptune's Daughter (1949)

The Sun Comes Up (1949)

The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)

The Bribe (1949)

Julia Misbehaves (1948)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Pirate (1948)

On an Island with You (1948)

State of the Union (1948)

B.F.'s Daughter (1948)

Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)

Cass Timberlane (1947)

Desire Me (1947)

This Time for Keeps (1947)

Merton of the Movies (1947)

Song of Love (1947)

The Unfinished Dance (1947)

Cynthia (1947)

Song of the Thin Man (1947)

The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)

The Hucksters (1947)

Dark Delusion (1947)

Fiesta (1947)

Living in a Big Way (1947)

High Barbaree (1947)

The Sea of Grass (1947)

Undercover Maisie (1947)

The Arnelo Affair (1947)

Green Dolphin Street (1947)

Love Laughs at Andy Hardy (1946)

The Secret Heart (1946)

Lady in the Lake (1946)

The Yearling (1946)

Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)

Undercurrent (1946)

Courage of Lassie (1946)

Faithful in My Fashion (1946)

Easy to Wed (1946)

Two Sisters from Boston (1946)

Two Smart People (1946)

Bad Bascomb (1946)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

The Hoodlum Saint (1946)

Up Goes Maisie (1946)

The Harvey Girls (1946)

Adventure (1945)

The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945)

Yolanda and the Thief (1945)

Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)

She Went to the Races (1945)

Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)

The Hidden Eye (1945)

Ziegfeld Follies (1945)

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Dangerous Partners (1945)

Twice Blessed (1945)

The Clock (1945)

Thrill of a Romance (1945)

The Valley of Decision (1945)

Son of Lassie (1945)

Between Two Women (1945)

Without Love (1945)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

National Velvet (1945)

The Great Morgan (1945)

The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

Music for Millions (1944)

Nothing But Trouble (1944)

Gentle Annie (1944)

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Mrs. Parkington (1944)

Kismet (1944)

Maisie Goes to Reno (1944)

The Canterville Ghost (1944)

Bathing Beauty (1944)

Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)

Meet the People (1944)

The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

Gaslight (1944)

Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944)

Rationing (1944)

See Here, Private Hargrove (1944)

Broadway Rhythm (1944)

A Guy Named Joe (1943)

Lost Angel (1943)

Madame Curie (1943)

Girl Crazy (1943)

Cry 'Havoc' (1943)

Swing Fever (1943)

Best Foot Forward (1943)

Swing Shift Maisie (1943)

Thousands Cheer (1943)

Du Barry was a Lady (1943)

Above Suspicion (1943)

Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943)

No Time for Love (1943)

Slightly Dangerous (1943)

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

The Human Comedy (1943)

Reunion in France (1942)

You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

The Talk of the Town (1942)

Tales of Manhattan (1942)

They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Take a Letter, Darling (1942)

The Wife Takes a Flyer (1942)

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

You'll Never Get Rich (1941)

That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

The Devil and Miss Jones (1941)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Arise, My Love (1940)

Seven Sinners (1940)

Hired Wife (1940)

Lucky Partners (1940)

Waterloo Bridge (1940)

Too Many Husbands (1940)

Green Hell (1940)

Eternally Yours (1939)

Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939)

In Name Only (1939)

Bachelor Mother (1939)

Midnight (1939)

Topper Takes a Trip (1938)

Trade Winds (1938)

You Can't Take It with You (1938)

Vivacious Lady (1938)

Merrily We Live (1938)

Algiers (1938)

Topper (1937)

Shall We Dance (1937)

Wedding Present (1936)

Goldie Gets Along (1933)

Picking Peaches (1924)

Ten Dollars or Ten Days (1924)

The Dare-Devil (1923)

A Tailor-Made Man (1922)

The Duck Hunter (1922)
Gallery


Information
Known ForCostume & Make-Up
GenderFemale
Birthday1900-12-08
Deathday1962-11-15 (61 years old)
Birth PlaceSouth Dakota, United States
RelationshipsF. Richard Jones (1929 - 1930)
CitizenshipsUnited States
Also Known AsIrene Maud Lentz, Irene Lentz, Irene Gibbons
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