#59 Dita Von Teese Talks Burlesque History, Vegas Residency, Her Celebrity Fans

Allison Interviews

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Dita Von Teese is internationally recognized as the Queen of Burlesque, having set a history-making benchmark for this great American art form with unrivaled artistry, flair and sophistication as performer, creative director, choreographer and producer.

Dita’s signature style has made her muse to some of the greatest couturiers and designers—influencing their collections, appearing on their runways, in their campaigns and on red carpets. She has also led the way as designer, collaborator and entrepreneur, with eponymous forays in fashion, beauty, music, publishing, spirits and entertainment production.

On stage, Dita is renowned for delighting audiences with a nonpareil romp into fantasy and spectacle, her original and ornate sets and haute couture costumes swathed in Swarovski crystals dazzling transcontinental audiences. Jean-Paul Gaultier, Elie Saab, Alexis Mabille, Jenny Packham and Zuhair Murad are among the fashion designers who create looks for her performances, and her custom footwear is always by Christian Louboutin. Many of her most awe-inspiring costumes are realized in collaboration with legendary corsetier Mr. Pearl and burlesque star-turned-designer Catherine D’Lish.

So extraordinary are her performances and productions that Dita is a marquee ambassador worldwide for the artform.

Taylor Swift tapped Dita to play a burlesque-styled fairy godmother to the pop icon’s Cinderella in the star-studded video “Bejeweled,” the chart-topping track off Swift’s 2022 bestselling album, Midnights. Dita even shares two of her trademark martini glasses in the video, the two icons taking a sparkling spin within them. Weeks before, Dita teased cinema goers across the globe in the 2022 critically acclaimed film “Don’t Worry Darling,” with Harry Styles, Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde.

It is a style that Dita has also taken to market with namesake collections in lingerie, gloves and jewelry; hats with Hood London; and a signature clothing collection in collaboration with Austrian-based designer Lena Hoschek that is in the works.

It always comes back to the curtain call, of course, and Dita’s four full-length revues are the grandest tours in burlesque history: “Strip, Strip, Hooray!” (2013-2016), “The Art of the Teese” (2017), “Dita Von Teese and the Copper Coupe” (2018), and “Glamonatrix” (2019 and 2022-2023).

These sensational spectaculars showcase a gender- and body-diverse cast of the crème de la crème of neo-burlesque performers, hailing from all over the world. In 2022, as in 2019 (a tour interrupted due to the pandemic), Dita and her star troupe staged “Glamonatrix” in historic theatres across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US—including five sold-out nights at the London Palladium, and packed houses at the prestigious Folies Bergère in Paris and Burgtheatre in Vienna. Dita made theatrical history bringing burlesque to the Opera Garnier Monte Carlo, with Prince Albert II of Monaco in attendance.

Dita Von Teese Links

Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/ditavegas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ditavonteese

Website: https://dita.net/

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