Joe Strassner
Joe Strassner was a German costume and fashion designer who made his name in Berlin in the 1920s and early 1930s designing couture and dressing a huge number of German films. He visited Hollywood with Lillian Harvey in 1933 and after the Nazi’s took power he fled first to Paris and then London. He replicated his Berlin success in London in the 1930s before leaving for New York in the 1940s where he ventured into the ready-to-wear market. It is also likely that in the 1920s he took the pseudonym of Ipsen Andre to perform as a dancer in cabaret where he frequently danced with Jenny Steiner, who became his wife.
Joe Strassner was born John Friedrich Strassner in Charlottenburg, Berlin in April 1898 (dates vary from 28 March, 19 April and 28 April). His father was a merchant called Isidor (born 26/1/1859 and died 22/2/1926 in Berlin) and his mother Hannah nee Fleishmann (born 1/5/1870 and died 2/1/1943 in London). They had been married in 1893 in Hamburg. Joe had an elder sister Minna (born 28/11/1893) and a brother Alfred (born 3/4/1896).
The Strassner family lived in a apartment at Goethestraße 78 in Charlottenburg, just north of the Kurfurstendamm and incredibly the building seemingly was not destroyed in the war. Clearly from the position and impressive nature of the building the family were rather well-off.
Sadly it has nor been possible to establish details of Isidor’s family. However, it is known that at some point he lived in Stockton California and may have been born there. From inference Isidor’s father may have been Abraham and his mother’s maiden name had been Pariser.
It is noted that an Alexander Strassner and Abraham Strassner departed Hamburg on 26th October 1850 for New York. They were most likely brothers and must have made their way to California to take advantage of the gold rush that had recently commenced. In a later interview Joe Strassner revealed that in Stockton, his father had been a merchant in the gold rush days and ran a little store selling supplies to the prospectors which was more practical and profitable than prospecting. Presumably this was a business that Alexander and Abraham had started and maintained for many years. Abraham died there but Alexander and the rest of the family including Joe’s father Isidor eventually returned to Germany.
Alexander and his family seemingly made a business with the Pariser family in Breslau and had at least two children called Max and Isidor. But what happened to Abraham’s family is not known until Isidor married in 1893 and subsequently relocated to Berlin.
There is no clue to Joe’s early life but he must have attended a good school and may have had some training in art and perhaps costume design. Whatever happened, by 1918 he was listed in the Germany telephone directories as a Kaufman (business man) at Goethestraße 78, his family home. He was continually listed through the 1920s at this address. He was either working for his father in business or had already started a career as costume designer out of the family home.
Joe Strassner later stated that he did his first artistic work for the Munich theatre and then transferred to Berlin. This first pivotal work was for the great Munich theatrical producer Hans Grus designing costumes for a cabaret show at the Bonbonniere, Neuturmstraße 5 staged in July 1924. This was regarded as one of the leading cabaret venues in Germany. Strassner’s costume designs had been reproduced by a number of outstanding Munich firms. Prior to this Hans Grus had staged a revue in May at his Deutsches Theatre and many of the stars of the show appeared in cabaret at the Bonbonniere, including the Berlin dancer Jenny Steiner.
How he got this commission is not known. Since Strassner later married Steiner in 1932 perhaps this is when they met or had they met prior to 1924 in Berlin and it was Steiner who persuaded Hans Grus to use Strassner’s designs.
Significantly, it is my contention that Joe Strassner had a pseudonym and a parallel career as a dancer called Ipsen Andre from 1924-1930, who was the main dancing partner of Jenny Steiner.
See the post about Ipsen Andre here
Back in Berlin in late 1924 Ipsen Andre appeared in Rudolf Nelson’s revues, one with Jenny Steiner (Perhaps Strassner dressed the show) but in the Spring of 1925 Nelson’s Madame Revue not only featured Ipsen Andre and Jenny Steiner but Joe Strassner definately dressed the show.
At about the same time Joe Strassner began his association with the German film industry and dressed two movies both released in April 1925 and directed by Richard Eichberg. The first was Luxusweibchen (Women of Luxury) starring Lee Parry (Eichberg’s wife) and Hans Albers, made in the Johannisthal Studios near Berlin. The second was Leidenschaft (Passion) with Camilla Von Hollay and Lilian Harvey. The art direction for both films was by Jacek Rotmil and Siegfried Wroblewsky. This was the beginning of his association with Lilian Harvey.
One must conclude that prior to this time Strassner must have been designing and creating costumes and gowns for private customers and perhaps other stage shows before he was appointed by Eichberg. It is interesting to speculate how Strassner met Eichberg. Perhaps they met socially out and about in Berlin or perhaps Eichberg saw Strassner’s costumes at the Nelson Theatre.
Strassner worked on another two Eichberg movies: Die keusche Susanne (Chaste Susanne) featured Lilian Harvey and Willy Fritsch (1926) and Schmutziges Geld (Dirty Money / Song) featured the American actress Anna May Wong as a cabaret artist (1928). A second movie with Anna May Wong called Großstadtschmetterling (The Pavement Butterfly) was released in April 1929 and was likely dressed by Strassner.
The scarcity of credits in the period 1927-1929 may suggest that there were a lot more films and German film stars that Strassner dressed but for which he was not given credit.
Examining Joe Strassner’s creations for his first few films shows that his style, even in the early part of his career, was defined by an elegant simplicity that was nevertheless smart and glamorous but also reflected the general mode of the day.
In late 1929 Strassner was interviewed about his involvement in the German film industry and his views about film fashions. He made it clear that there was a difference between fashion in general and film fashion ‘because film fashion is the fashion of tomorrow and most of the day after tomorrow and yet stands beyond its time. It must not be the fashion of today.’ The reasons for this is that women want to see something different in films, something not seen in magazines and fashion houses. They want to see extravagance and be given inspiration. More importantly, film fashions cannot follow general fashion because of the technical detail of timing. When dresses are designed for a film it often takes up to six months before the film is seen for the first time. For example: a film that was made in May would be shown for the first time in Berlin in October, so it must not only embody the autumn and winter fashion but, should be way ahead of it. Equally, in more general terms very dress should be new, always unique. ‘Every dress for every actress must be specially designed for her.’ He added that each dress for each actress for every role should also best emphasizes her individuality.
Strassner continued by saying ‘I was recently in Paris and saw the most beautiful fashion collection that Paris has had to show for ten years. I admire and love these wonderful clothes. They live in me, grow and change. If I develop the fashion trend expressed in them further, carry it through to the last detail and even exaggerate it, I will have the fashion of next year! I will raise the waistline a little higher, make the skirt a little more complicated and longer, the jacket shorter, the fur collar and the fur cuffs even larger and in a completely different shape than has ever been seen, and the handbags and shoes as tiny as possible. If there is a tendency to sparingly decorate the clothes, then logically I will leave this out completely and achieve incredible effects just by fabric and line. The most important thing in every dress is that it is beautiful. Absolute beauty is what I strive for. An actress and of course every woman must look wonderful at every moment, in every dress, with every hat.’
The interview must have been timed to follow the momentous development of the formation of Joe Strassner Ltd company on 17th October 1929. The purpose of this new company was for the manufacture and sale of elegant women’s clothing for everyday life, theater and film, with the emphasis on the latter activity. The business had been formed between Strassner and Renate Hartung (a divorcee) with a smart outlet at Kurfürstendamm 233, that had previously been the Jacques Casper Galerie.
Renate Hartung may have been related to the famous actor and theatre manager Gustav Hartung. Gustav had been involved in the first Schlossfestspiele in Heidelberg in 1926 and continued this activity in 1927 and 1928. The costumes for the shows in Heidelberg in the summer of 1926, 1927 and 1928 were designed by Marlene Poelzig and Renate Hurtung, so Renate had prior experience as a costume designer.
During 1930, 1931 and 1932 Joe Strassner dressed dozens of German films featuring such stars as Lilian Harvey, Betty Bird, Käthe von Nagy, Anna Sten, Margo Lion, Marianne Winkelstern, Renate Muller, Hilde Hildebrand, Liane Haid, Henny Porten, Erika Glassner, Anny Ondra and Jenny Jugo amongst many others.
In addition to his incredibly busy career designing film costumes he married the dancer Jenny Steiner in Berlin on 16th June 1932. They were both in their mid-30s at the time and it was a late marriage given that they had probably known each other for sometime. Was it perhaps a reaction to the political situation in Germany at the time with an awareness that things were not going well as the political instability was leading to the rise of the Nazi party and they felt they needed to protect themselves?
See the post on Jenny Steiner here
In November 1932 it was announced that Joe Strassner had been asked to dress the German film star Lilian Harvey in Hollywood for Fox Pictures. Both arrived in New York bound for Hollywood from Bremen on 12/1/1933. They had been accompanied from Berlin by the film director Ernst Lubitsch. Strassner listed his wife as Jenny Strassner living at 2a Albrecht Achilles str, Berlin (just south of the Ku’damm). It would appear that Jenny stayed in Berlin and did not accompany her husband. They spent about a week in New York and Harvey was given an elaborate press luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria by Fox films to celebrate her arrival.
During one interview Strassner was described as ‘a mild mannered little man’ (he was 5 feet 7″ tall). Later, his character was further defined and he was seen as ‘modest, quiet and charming with a genius (and a preference) for original simplicity in design.’ Bedside being Harvey’s personal stylist and designer he was acting as the perfect escort and no doubt there were a lot of social engagements in New York.
Harvey not only bought with her Strassner but also a maid, plus 18 trunks full of new fashions that included dozens of coats, 18 evening dresses and 50 informal and street clothes. Some of these clothes had been specially designed for Harvey’s first Fox movie.
Harvey and Strassner left New York 21st January 1933 by train for Hollywood. Harvey was given a special bungalow on the Fox lot and beside working on her pictures socialised with other stars including Clara Bow, Maurice Chevalier and Gary Cooper and was out and about at parties and society venues like the Biltmore Hotel and Coconut Groove and trips to Palm Springs. No doubt Strassner accompanied her. After staying at the Beverly-Wilshire Hotel Harvey moved into a rented house in Beverly Hills.
Strassner established himself in the wardrobe department at Fox and designed the costumes for four films, three for Lilian Harvey. These were My Lips Betray (1933), My Weakness (1933), I am Suzanne (1933) and The Best of Enemies (1933 – without Harvey.
It would appear that on his arrival at the Fox lot in Hollywood Strassner may well have entered a bit of a hornets nest. In July 1932 Rita Kaufman had been appointed stylist at Fox. Kaufman had been married to Al Kaufman the Famous Players Lasky Studio executive and lived for many years in Europe. She was regarded as a well connected and prominent society hostess. She had returned to America in about 1931 and became a designer and buyer for the fashionable modiste Hattie Carnegie in New York before deciding to move to Hollywood. At Fox she ‘selected’ the costumes for Fox stars and worked with other designers such as David Cox, William Lambert, Earl Luick and Royer.
Although we do not know the details of Strassner’s contract with Fox, Kaufman would not have been impressed by Strassner being given credit and the ability to design not just for Lilian Harvey but for other pictures. It was reported that there was ‘intra-studio strife over the dressmaking supremacy at Fox Studios’ and that in fact Strassner was ‘destined to become the presiding genius over all Fox feminine fripperies.’
In the end any dissent was halted when Kaufman was appointed head stylist at Fox in mid-March 1933. It was made clear that Strassner, Earl Luick and William Lambert would work under her supervision. Who knows if this arrangement would have been acceptable to Strassner.
In the end it did not mean much because Strassner returned to Europe in May 1933 arriving at Le Havre from New York on 27th May 1933. In all likelihood his departure from Hollywood was precipitated by events back home in Berlin. Hitler and the Nazis had effectively taken over and Germany was now a dictatorship. Political opponents were being intimidated and arrested and the persecution and exclusion of jews and Jewish businesses had reached new heights.
In Berlin, Strassner discovered his shop on the Kurfürstendamm had been closed because he was Jewish. It was reported that he was arrested and jailed and the Nazis handled him so roughly that he spent five days in hospital.
Given his activity in Hollywood it is interesting that he did not return there. Lilian Harvey was still living in Los Angeles and there are hints, that although he was not on the Fox payroll he would have been accepted back into the fold and under Kaufman. Instead, he moved to Paris. Perhaps he had had enough of office politics in Hollywood or perhaps he had a financial imperative to go to Paris instead.
It is likely that Strassner, who had been a visitor to Paris before this date, was shrewd and may have already seen the writing on the wall in Berlin and had already transferred funds and assets to Paris as a precaution. Returning to Berlin was a necessity to reunite with his wife Jenny Steiner and his mother and sister and salvage what he could from his business and home. It is likely that they all left Berlin together for Paris by mid-June 1933.
What happened to his brother Alfred is not known. During the period 1921-1931 Alfred was listed as a Kaufman (business man) at Traunsteiner Strasse 9 in Nollendorf. But then there is nothing further in the record.
In mid-June 1933 Strassner placed an intriguing advert in a newspaper in Zurich (and perhaps elsewhere). Described as the former owner of the leading fashion house in Berlin, and just back from Hollywood, Strassner was seeking offers (presumably finance) to immediately establish a haute couture salon in Paris. He was staying at the new and salubrious Hotel De Castiglione, 40 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris.
For whatever reason the move to Paris was transitory and it is not known if Joe Strassner did in fact open a couture house there in 1933. Certainly by the summer of 1934 he had moved to London and Jenny must have moved there too along with his mother and sister.
What was odd was that Joe Strassner’s wife Jenny continued to perform in Europe. In late July 1933, Jenny travelled to Holland and joined a cabaret troupe largely made up of Jewish refugees from Berlin headed by Willy Rosen. She returned to Zurich, Switzerland joining Rosen again in May 1934 in another cabaret show. Further, she joined Willy Rosen in another show that was staged in the Urania Cinema Gold in Prague in November 1934.
In London Strassner started once again to design the wardrobe for film. His first credit was for Victor Saville’s The Dictator with Madeleine Carroll and Clive Brook and was set in the 18th Century Danish Court. This was the first film from Ludovico Toeplitz for his newly formed Toeplitz Productions made at Ealing. Planning took place in the summer of 1934 and by August 1934 the firm of Motley were creating the costumes from Strassner’s designs. It was glossy, lavish and beautifully designed and a good vehicle for Strassner to return to costuming films.
After working on the Dictator, Strassner carried on in a freelance capacity for various production companies from 1935 – 1940, although he was specifically associated with Gaumont British and worked frequently with Marianne Horn who was head of the wardrobe department there.
During this period he worked on over 30 films and dressed both American, British and continental stars such as Cicely Courtneidge, Fay Wray, Adrienne Ames, Elisabeth Bergner, Sarah Churchill, Gracie Fields, Ann Todd, Jessie Matthews, Madeleine Carroll, Grete Mosheim, Anna Lee, Madge Evans, Helen Vinson, Yvonne Arnaud, Sylvia Sidney and Constance Bennett.
Some significant credits include The 39 Steps (1935), First a Girl (1935), the Tunnel (1935), Bulldog Jack (1935), As You Like it (1936) and Secret Agent (1936). Strassner became expert in creating dresses that looked fresh when they were seen up to six month after being created.
Of interest was the husband and wife team of the actress Elizabeth Bergner and the producer and director Paul Czinner. Both Jewish and from Berlin, Strassner had worked with them in Germany and like himself they had also fled the Nazi regime in 1933.
In April 1935 British Gaumont announced a clever fashion scheme to replicate the screen fashions of the stars for sale to the general public. The scheme was developed in association with a leading clothing manufacturer and wholesaler. An announcement said ‘the screen exerts a great influence over fashions in America and it is hoped that the present scheme which is being tried for the first time in Europe will stimulate the fashions trade here.’ The particular fashions selected were based on designs by Joe Strassner from the Clairvoyant (Fay Wray and Jane Baxter) and 39 steps (Madeleine Carroll and Lucy Mannheim) but later it was planned to sell copies of models worn by other Gaumont British stars such as Jessie Matthews, Madge Evans, Maureen O’Sullivan, Frances Day, Nova Pilbeam, Betty Balfour and Cicely Courtneidge and others.
The sizing was limited and decided by the size and type of the star for whom they were designed. The credit of the conception and execution of the plan was attributed to Mrs Marianne Horn the wardrobe supervisor at Gaumont British and were to be known as Marianne Models.
In early 1937 it was announced that Strassner was to open his own couture salon in addition to designing for film. In early March 1937 he had been persuaded to design the wedding gown for Angela Dudley when she married Captain Laycock, perhaps as a precursor to his return to designing for the general public. About the same time his salon opened at 48 South Audley Street, a prestigious location in Mayfair. At his first Spring collection staged in late March 1937 the mannequins appeared dressed as film stars and it was observed that if the audience was anticipating trailing tea gowns smothered in ostrich feathers or dresses made entirely of sequins, they would be disappointed.
The outstanding features of Strassner’s collection were complete simplicity and no exaggeration. His models fitted trimly to the figure with little decoration, and were severe to the point of masculinity and almost military in style. There were well-cut flannel trousers and classic suits and collarless military coats. In afternoon and evening wear there was a tendency to bring drapery to the front and let material fall in graceful pleats or folds as a Grecian or Egyptian effect.
Strassner was also seen as being almost unique in dress makers for creating clothes that did not date or become unwearable. He liked colour and interesting materials because they did not date. He also believed that each woman needed to be studied instead of just pushing her into the mode of the moment.
Despite his undoubted success, tragedy struck in May 1937 when his wife Jenny died suddenly in Zurich of a stomach ailment. It was made clear that she was a resident of London. But what was she doing in Zurich ? Perhaps she was meeting Willy Rosen with the intent of joining him in a new cabaret show? Rosen was certainly in Switzerland at the time and had been performing at the Corso variety theatre in Bern during March 1937. Sadly, Willy Rosen was murdered by the Nazi’s in 1944.
See the post about Jenny Steiner here
In his Spring 1938 collection Strassner ‘set a fresh standard of beauty by introducing fashions of many eras in a series of glorious new models.’ It was thought that he excelled in his tailored suits, evening dresses, play-suits and sports clothes. Allegedly, Strassner Ltd dressed members of the royal family (including the Duchess of Windsor), Winston Churchill’s daughters and Lady Astor.
During the period 1938-1941 Strassner continued designing for film but his output was reduced to only about six films. Then in May 1941 he took a surprising turn and left the UK for America. Travelling from Newcastle upon Tyne he arrived in Montreal on 21/5/1941 and then travelled south to St Albans, Vermont entering the USA. He listed his mother Hanna living at 33 Langford Court, London NW8 and a friend in America as Charles Milgrim at 6 West 67th Street, New York. Charles Milgrim was the owner of the world famous Milgrim specialty store with outlets in New York and other America cities. It sold custom wear and ready-to-wear clothes and imported French and European designs.
Why Strassner travelled back to America is not known. Was it merely an exploratory trip to see what opportunities there were in New York and Hollywood ? Did he have some interesting offers of work that precipitated the visit ? Was he thinking of setting up Strassner Ltd in New York ? Or did he merely despair at the progress of the war following the blitz of London and was fearful of an allied defeat?
Strassner must have stayed sometime in New York staying at the Hotel Elysee but then moved onto Los Angeles, where at the end of March 1942 it was reported he was in Hollywood ‘to design for the stars’ and was looking ‘for a studio career.’
Strassner immediately was host at a dinner party in Hollywood and was then seen at other social functions. He had obviously decided his move to America was permanent and took out naturalisation on 1st April 1942 in Los Angeles listing his occupation as freelance designer living at 1354 North Harper Avenue and represented by the Agency Orsatti on Sunset Boulevard.
This was not an ideal time to find a job in one of the Hollywood film studios. There were already well established designers, there had been a big change in production with far more ‘B’ pictures and the demise of the ‘big’ star was clearly evident. Equally, the war had had a serious impact on materials. The only two studios that were in a state of flux in the Spring of 1942 in terms of designers were MGM and Fox. Strassner was not successful in securing a Hollywood deal and it would appear he moved back to New York. He never designed for film again.
After 1942 he was engaged in the wholesale dress business and in 1948 for example, he was working for the company of Adler and Adler, one of New York’s oldest clothing companies. He had seemingly lost none oh his flair and panache and was highly praised. ‘His dresses are well cut and his jackets are softened classics that look extremely new but will style in style because of their simplicity.’ Strassner was thought to have created ensembles that were wearable, lovable and likeable. He also believed in a modified ‘new look’ that was evident in his new collection that was ‘full of freshness and charm with none of the affectedness prominent in so many of the new styles.’ It was thought that he exhibited a genius for detail, carefully channeled to adapt the best features of the Parisian and New York modes that he had modified to suit the needs of the busy smart American woman.
Despite his move to America, Strassner Ltd continued and flourished in London and was still in business during the 1950s. Did his sister Minna Strassner get involved in the business or was it under the management of a new team or did Strassner sell the company ? Certainly, by October 1952, one of the directors was Felix Marcel who had moved the company to 44 Knightsbridge.
In 1946 he married Ruth Collins (born in 1918) and in 1949 he had a son named after him. Strassner made numerous trips back to Europe and in retirement painted. His sister Minna visited him in New York in September 1948. She died in 1983 and Hannah Strassner died in 1943.
Joe Strassner died in March 1970 in New York.
All images (unless specified in the caption) and text © copyright Gary Chapman / Jazz Age Club and must not be re-used without prior consent
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