Designer Rene Hubert — a life in costumes

Born in 1895 in Switzerland, Hubert studied drawing and art. Throughout his life he loved to surround himself with framed photographs of his famous friends and clients like Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. Here he is seen sketching in his office at Paramount Studios in 1932. In a TV interview at his home in the 1970s, many of these same photos can be seen in the background.

Hubert worked on at least seven movies with Gloria Swanson from 1924 until 1941. She brought him to Hollywood and was one of his biggest fans. He was able to create many exotic, over-the-top costumes that became her calling card. It was a perfect working relationship. Later in life they wrote and saw each other often and remained friends until his death.

Hubert did the costumes for Fox's "Curly Top" starring 7-year-old Shirley Temple, here with actor John Boles. Like today, early stars influenced how people dressed and copies of Temple's dresses were sold in department stores across the country. It's unlikely Hubert saw any of that money though, but it is a good example of Hollywood influencing daily life, even for children's clothing.

Based on H.G. Wells' story, this 1936 black-and-white science fiction film gave Hubert the chance to do something really different. Starring Raymond Massey, the film literally takes place out of this world and the costumes needed to match 1930's dreams of the future. It has become a cult classic. For Hubert it was only one of nearly 200 films that he worked on during his long career.

Hubert likely met Marlene Dietrich in Berlin. Later in Hollywood, the fellow German speakers became friends and Hubert made dresses for her. She wore his work in "Shanghai Express" and "Knight Without Armor" though he did not get credit for it. Finally, in Universal's "Flame of New Orleans" he got official screen credit. Sadly, the film was not a success, but the costumes weren't to blame.

In 1950 for one of her first film roles, Marilyn Monroe didn't end up on the Twentieth Century Fox posters. But she did get costumes to wear created by Rene Hubert. Compared with many of her later revealing costumes, these are quite reserved. Who knew that the starlet would have her big breakthrough in a few years, skyrocketing her to everlasting iconic status? Here she is second from left.

Drawings and photographs of Hubert's work ended up in many film and fashion magazines, though he was often called a "French designer" instead of Swiss. Later he designed clothing and accessories for department stores in Switzerland and Germany. Here is a spread from October 1963 in "Epoca." It shows two creations in vivid color for Ingrid Bergman from "The Visit" in cooperation with Nina Ricci.

Hubert was nominated for two Academy Awards. The first time for "Desiree" in 1954, in which he made costumes for Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon and dressed Marlon Brando as Napoleon. The second nomination was for "The Visit" in 1964. He would surely have been nominated for more Oscars, but the costume category was not awarded until 1949, well past most of his best known work.

This Twentieth Century Fox film starred Yul Brenner, Helen Hayes and Ingrid Bergman. For the movie, Hubert created glorious costumes to bring back the feeling of imperial Russia. It is the story of an impostor pretending to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. The magnificent gowns and jewelry hark back to Hubert's early designs for Gloria Swanson that made him famous.

After working in Hollywood, Berlin, Paris and London, Hubert decided to return to Switzerland permanently. There he lived in Zurich where he wanted to write his autobiography. Instead he kept working. He did consulting work for shoemaker Bally and designed fabrics. In the 1950-60s he revamped the interiors of Swissair jets and designed matching uniforms for the cabin crew. He died in 1976 at 80.