SiennaInLondon
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^ I thought she spelt it Tease but they mispelt it Teese. There was no Trease.
Dita Von Teese
- Thread starter Mr-Dale
- Start date
Teese me
Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth
Styling by Sasha Lilic
Interview by Patrick Thevenin
Dita Von Teese is the Queen of New Burlesque, the new Super Diva, the elegantly made woman and also girlfriend of super hero Marylin Manson. It’s early in the morning, the location is an old dated Parisian hotel behind the Chapms Elysées. Ellen von Unwerth has just arrived and everybody from the hairdresser to the fashion assistant seem nervous. Dita is in a room surrounded by mountains of lingerie, stockings, shoes, knickers, suspenders and other bling-bling, enough to make every fetishist go crazy. She’s so beautiful and sexy, that you have to look twice to be sure she’s not a hallucination. So shy and polite that you wish every star would be like her. She has so much class that she can wear anything or be completely nude and still stay pure. A real lady!
ABOVE: Why are you in Paris?
DITA: Why am I in Paris? Well, I originally came to London and as I have a lot of friends here in Paris as well, I just popped over.
A: When did you arrive?
D: Sunday, so I’m here for a week…
I have loved Paris ever since I was a little girl, I wish I was Parisian. Since I was 18 or 19 I took every opportunity that I had to come here.
A: What are you favourite places in Paris?
D: I love lingerie shopping, this is my favourite part about Paris, I love visiting museums, walking in the streets and going to the tea-shops having tea in the cafes.
There are so many great things about Paris, I can’t get enough!!!
A: Is it really different than L.A.?
D: I know more elegant people in Paris than in L.A., more interesting ones…
In L.A” I have very few friends…good friends.
A: Who are your friends in Paris?
D: Mister Pearl is one of my good freinds, he is my favourite Parisian, even if he’s not really Parisian. Ali Mahdavi, the photographer, and Ellen von Unwerth…Christopher Mourthe, who’s a photographer as well, but maybe I should check the spelling for you later for these people…
Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth
Styling by Sasha Lilic
Interview by Patrick Thevenin
Dita Von Teese is the Queen of New Burlesque, the new Super Diva, the elegantly made woman and also girlfriend of super hero Marylin Manson. It’s early in the morning, the location is an old dated Parisian hotel behind the Chapms Elysées. Ellen von Unwerth has just arrived and everybody from the hairdresser to the fashion assistant seem nervous. Dita is in a room surrounded by mountains of lingerie, stockings, shoes, knickers, suspenders and other bling-bling, enough to make every fetishist go crazy. She’s so beautiful and sexy, that you have to look twice to be sure she’s not a hallucination. So shy and polite that you wish every star would be like her. She has so much class that she can wear anything or be completely nude and still stay pure. A real lady!
ABOVE: Why are you in Paris?
DITA: Why am I in Paris? Well, I originally came to London and as I have a lot of friends here in Paris as well, I just popped over.
A: When did you arrive?
D: Sunday, so I’m here for a week…
I have loved Paris ever since I was a little girl, I wish I was Parisian. Since I was 18 or 19 I took every opportunity that I had to come here.
A: What are you favourite places in Paris?
D: I love lingerie shopping, this is my favourite part about Paris, I love visiting museums, walking in the streets and going to the tea-shops having tea in the cafes.
There are so many great things about Paris, I can’t get enough!!!
A: Is it really different than L.A.?
D: I know more elegant people in Paris than in L.A., more interesting ones…
In L.A” I have very few friends…good friends.
A: Who are your friends in Paris?
D: Mister Pearl is one of my good freinds, he is my favourite Parisian, even if he’s not really Parisian. Ali Mahdavi, the photographer, and Ellen von Unwerth…Christopher Mourthe, who’s a photographer as well, but maybe I should check the spelling for you later for these people…
A: You have a real Parisian look.
D: Thank you. I take that as a compliment.
A: Do people think you’re French?
D: Especially when I’m in L.A. People told me: “Well, you look very French”. Even when I’m here, people don’t think: “Oh, she must be American”. So I can blend in.
A: Where does your name come from?
D: It’s completely fabricated, When I was 20 years old I started working in a strip-club in America, but you never use your real name, you have to choose a new one. So I picked Dita because I was a fan of the 20’s and there was that famous actress called Dita Parlo. Later on, when I posed fro Playboy, the told me I had to choose a last name and that I can’t be just Dita. So I called Playboy and said to them: “Ok! I choose Dita Von Treese”. But they misprinted it as Von Teese.
A: How do you define your job? Are you a muse?
D: I don’t have a definition. My favourite part of my work is being on stage, as I like to think of myself as a showgirl. When I think of showgirls, I think of Gypsy Rose Lee., Mistinguette or Josephine Baker. My favourite thing is to do my shows, and I want people to remember me for that, and not only for being just a pin-up model.
A: What about doing a show in Paris?
D: I’m working on it! I have a DVD coming out soon form my burlesque shows, and I may do something at the Crazy Saloon. It would be really great. Hopefully it will work out.
A: Five words to define yourself?
D: I guess: classic, elegant, a little coquette-ish – what does it mean in French?
Does mean the same thing: little girl-like?
And very shy, I guess whimsical. Is that five? (laughs)
A: How can you be so shy and be a pin-up?
D: I’m very shy about certain things. Like speaking in front of people for example. I feel uncomfortable when all the eyes are turned on me and they want me to say something, But of course, I’m not shy at all taking my clothes off when I’m on stage, or in front of a photographer. But I will never be the kind of party-girl that goes on about: “Did you see my boobs?”
A: I heard you’re in Paris looking for a wedding dress…
D: Thank you. I take that as a compliment.
A: Do people think you’re French?
D: Especially when I’m in L.A. People told me: “Well, you look very French”. Even when I’m here, people don’t think: “Oh, she must be American”. So I can blend in.
A: Where does your name come from?
D: It’s completely fabricated, When I was 20 years old I started working in a strip-club in America, but you never use your real name, you have to choose a new one. So I picked Dita because I was a fan of the 20’s and there was that famous actress called Dita Parlo. Later on, when I posed fro Playboy, the told me I had to choose a last name and that I can’t be just Dita. So I called Playboy and said to them: “Ok! I choose Dita Von Treese”. But they misprinted it as Von Teese.
A: How do you define your job? Are you a muse?
D: I don’t have a definition. My favourite part of my work is being on stage, as I like to think of myself as a showgirl. When I think of showgirls, I think of Gypsy Rose Lee., Mistinguette or Josephine Baker. My favourite thing is to do my shows, and I want people to remember me for that, and not only for being just a pin-up model.
A: What about doing a show in Paris?
D: I’m working on it! I have a DVD coming out soon form my burlesque shows, and I may do something at the Crazy Saloon. It would be really great. Hopefully it will work out.
A: Five words to define yourself?
D: I guess: classic, elegant, a little coquette-ish – what does it mean in French?
Does mean the same thing: little girl-like?
And very shy, I guess whimsical. Is that five? (laughs)
A: How can you be so shy and be a pin-up?
D: I’m very shy about certain things. Like speaking in front of people for example. I feel uncomfortable when all the eyes are turned on me and they want me to say something, But of course, I’m not shy at all taking my clothes off when I’m on stage, or in front of a photographer. But I will never be the kind of party-girl that goes on about: “Did you see my boobs?”
A: I heard you’re in Paris looking for a wedding dress…
D: (laughs) Vivienne Westwood has offered to make me my wedding gown but I want to have several different dresses to wear for that day, lots of choices. And of course, like any brie I’m nervous about my wedding gown…And Paris is the perfect place to look for “Le dress!”
A: Where is your wedding being held?
D: In Europe, Ireland, in Spring. We just want to stay out of the United States with a small selected group of guests instead of hundreds of people.
A: What is it like to get married to Marylin Manson, one of the most controversial start in the U.S.?
D: We’ve been together for years and I don’t want to wake up every morning going “Wow!!! He’s such a famous star!!!”. I don’t look at him that way, because I see him for who he is and not for what other people see in him. I can see a side that no one else n the world sees. I have chosen a really good husband .
A: Were you a fan of him before?
D: No. I really didn’t know much about him. You know, I’m listening to a lot of vintage music from the 20’s, Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. I’m kind of out of touch with what’s modern and what’s cool.
Of course I had heard of him, but I’m not really the kind of girl who loves to date a rock stars. I dated singers in bands before and it didn’t appeal to me because usually they’re not the kind of character that Id like to make my boyfriend. Of course, I’m a fan of his…I’m a huge fan of his art and music and I admire him very much, but sometimes when you are a real and true, die hard fan you can get past who they are. And when I meet him, I just got to know him as a person. I wasn’t obsessed with his image or his work..
A: I remember seeing one of his shows in Paris, it was really Cabaret oriented. Have you influenced each other?
D: Yes, definitely! He calls me his muse, which is a very fine compliment because it’s a nice thing to be referred to. Yes they are definitely things that he has influenced me on and I on him.
A: Are you going to sing with him?
D: We want to keep things separated. We don’t want to be like Nick and Jessica and all these couples that are super couples, who do everything in together. We both have our own identity, and also I don’t want to be perceived as being someone who rides on his coat tails or something like that. I don’t sing and I will never dare presume that I could do what he does. And he also respects what I do. But we have a project together, not a musical one. He’s going to direct me in short erotic films.
A: Where is your wedding being held?
D: In Europe, Ireland, in Spring. We just want to stay out of the United States with a small selected group of guests instead of hundreds of people.
A: What is it like to get married to Marylin Manson, one of the most controversial start in the U.S.?
D: We’ve been together for years and I don’t want to wake up every morning going “Wow!!! He’s such a famous star!!!”. I don’t look at him that way, because I see him for who he is and not for what other people see in him. I can see a side that no one else n the world sees. I have chosen a really good husband .
A: Were you a fan of him before?
D: No. I really didn’t know much about him. You know, I’m listening to a lot of vintage music from the 20’s, Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. I’m kind of out of touch with what’s modern and what’s cool.
Of course I had heard of him, but I’m not really the kind of girl who loves to date a rock stars. I dated singers in bands before and it didn’t appeal to me because usually they’re not the kind of character that Id like to make my boyfriend. Of course, I’m a fan of his…I’m a huge fan of his art and music and I admire him very much, but sometimes when you are a real and true, die hard fan you can get past who they are. And when I meet him, I just got to know him as a person. I wasn’t obsessed with his image or his work..
A: I remember seeing one of his shows in Paris, it was really Cabaret oriented. Have you influenced each other?
D: Yes, definitely! He calls me his muse, which is a very fine compliment because it’s a nice thing to be referred to. Yes they are definitely things that he has influenced me on and I on him.
A: Are you going to sing with him?
D: We want to keep things separated. We don’t want to be like Nick and Jessica and all these couples that are super couples, who do everything in together. We both have our own identity, and also I don’t want to be perceived as being someone who rides on his coat tails or something like that. I don’t sing and I will never dare presume that I could do what he does. And he also respects what I do. But we have a project together, not a musical one. He’s going to direct me in short erotic films.
A: You are not a good singer! Damn!
D: When I grew up as a little girl, I was watching all this old movies from the 1940’s, 1950’s, the big Technicolor musicals, It was like watching a cartoon, If you watch it now that is what it is like! It’s larger than life, and the colours and the women are so beautiful. I always wanted to be like Betty Grable. I loved her. She was a show girl wearing feathers and wonderful dresses. She was so colourful that I always wanted to dress like her.
And when I was going to be old enough to pick my own clothes, I wanted to be dressed just like the women in these movies. Not like a normal woman. No jeans. No tee-shirts…Never!!!
A: Do people recognize you in the street?
D: Yes, sometimes…It depends on where I am and the kind of crowd that I’m around. It also depends on how dressed up I am. I don’t have red lipstick on and high heels, if I’m not dressed extremely, no one really notices me and I can blend in. A lot of times people told me “Did someone ever tell you that you look like Dita Von Teese?” and I go “Yeah, sometimes…” And I run away. (laughs)
A: You have a big fan base?
D: Yes all around the world but mostly concentrated in the States, UK and Germany.
A: Are they gentle with you or kinky?
D: No, they are really respectful. If you go to my website you’ll see that there are a lot of women and girls between 18 and 25. They like to get beauty tips, and talk about the things I’m wearing. I never got e-mails where guys tell me they masturbate on my pictures. I think because they see me a lady.
A: What is you position as a feminist? Are you too girly for them?
D: Maybe a little bit. But I don’t want t o argue with them., because I think that the idea of women taking their clothes off and being show-girls is nothing new. It’s been around since the invention of the camera… I’m not doing anything new. I’m carrying on a tradition. I’m not doing anything that’s going to hurt anyone.
A: Don’t you think you belong to the new generation of feminists who are not afraid of their femininity?
D: For me dressing up in lingerie and pretty dresses doesn’t have anything to do with seducing men. I’ve been obsessed with lingerie since I was a little girl. I didn’t associate it with sex or seduction. You have the choice of wearing beautiful or ugly lingerie.
I made my choice.
A: You look a little like Snow White…
D: (in French) Blanche Neige…That’s a nice compliment!
I remember the cartoon from when I was little and I was more into the wicked Queen. She was so beautiful. With those eyebrows and those beautiful dresses…
D: When I grew up as a little girl, I was watching all this old movies from the 1940’s, 1950’s, the big Technicolor musicals, It was like watching a cartoon, If you watch it now that is what it is like! It’s larger than life, and the colours and the women are so beautiful. I always wanted to be like Betty Grable. I loved her. She was a show girl wearing feathers and wonderful dresses. She was so colourful that I always wanted to dress like her.
And when I was going to be old enough to pick my own clothes, I wanted to be dressed just like the women in these movies. Not like a normal woman. No jeans. No tee-shirts…Never!!!
A: Do people recognize you in the street?
D: Yes, sometimes…It depends on where I am and the kind of crowd that I’m around. It also depends on how dressed up I am. I don’t have red lipstick on and high heels, if I’m not dressed extremely, no one really notices me and I can blend in. A lot of times people told me “Did someone ever tell you that you look like Dita Von Teese?” and I go “Yeah, sometimes…” And I run away. (laughs)
A: You have a big fan base?
D: Yes all around the world but mostly concentrated in the States, UK and Germany.
A: Are they gentle with you or kinky?
D: No, they are really respectful. If you go to my website you’ll see that there are a lot of women and girls between 18 and 25. They like to get beauty tips, and talk about the things I’m wearing. I never got e-mails where guys tell me they masturbate on my pictures. I think because they see me a lady.
A: What is you position as a feminist? Are you too girly for them?
D: Maybe a little bit. But I don’t want t o argue with them., because I think that the idea of women taking their clothes off and being show-girls is nothing new. It’s been around since the invention of the camera… I’m not doing anything new. I’m carrying on a tradition. I’m not doing anything that’s going to hurt anyone.
A: Don’t you think you belong to the new generation of feminists who are not afraid of their femininity?
D: For me dressing up in lingerie and pretty dresses doesn’t have anything to do with seducing men. I’ve been obsessed with lingerie since I was a little girl. I didn’t associate it with sex or seduction. You have the choice of wearing beautiful or ugly lingerie.
I made my choice.
A: You look a little like Snow White…
D: (in French) Blanche Neige…That’s a nice compliment!
I remember the cartoon from when I was little and I was more into the wicked Queen. She was so beautiful. With those eyebrows and those beautiful dresses…
Many know her as the fiancée of Marilyn Manson but Dita von Teese is not just a pretty face. She is a world renowned burlesque artist, performing her infamous martini glass routine at some of the most exclusive events across America and Europe. She has been a fetish model for over a decade but only recently has she been featured more in the mainstream as people have begun to appreciate the elegance and vintage looks of this delightful woman.
Laura Nixon: What led you to first deciding you wanted to be a model and how did you get started?
Dita von Teese: I have been a fan of 1940's musicals since I was a very young girl, and I always wanted to dress like the women I admired in these films.... Hedy Lamarr, Betty Grable and Gene Tierney, Rita Hayworth to name a few. Later on as a teenager I started looking for vintage pinup images in books and old nudie magazines, and when I was 18, I began recreating some of these types of nostalgic photos for fun, and around 1992, near the start of the internet, I began a website with these photos.
I wandered into a fetish store sort of by accident in 1990 in search of a Victorian corset, and that's how I became interested and motivated to become a fetish model.
I was shocked that at that time there wasn't anyone emulating Bettie Page, although she clearly had many many fans, so that's another reason I started taking fetish photos. I liked the fact that the nudity wasn't what fetishists were after so much as the exotic clothing.
LN: How did you get involved in burlesque?
DvT: As I said, I loved pinups from the 30s and 40s, and I had all of these men’s magazines from the era, and they were filled with racy photos of burlesque dancers. I started working in a strip club when I was 19, and I was the only dancer around wearing seamed stockings, corsets and actually undressing onstage rather than simply strolling out in a spandex dress and bikini! People generally thought I was a little crazy, but I had a great time dressing and undressing, planning costumes for the stage. I began developing more of a real act, and once I had become more visible in the fetish scene and known from my appearances in Playboy's Newsstand specials, I had some recognition as a magazine model and so I began touring as a headlining act in strip clubs all over the US. This was a bit before the big "burlesque revival" took off, around 1994.
LN: Do you prefer intimate photo shoots or the thrill of live performance?
DvT: Both are fun in their own ways...I love live performance because I get to meet my fans, and performing is where my heart is.
Most of the photo shoots I do aren't very intimate, there are usually between ten to twenty people on the set.....but I've been having a good time doing these fashion shoots and having the opportunity to wear these extraordinary couture gowns and millions of dollars worth of diamonds!
LN: Looking back, did you ever think that you’d be where you are today when you first started?
DvT: Not at all, it's pretty surreal.... I am grateful every day for the success I've had, and for how lucky I am to have such amazing opportunities.
I grew up wanting to be a 40's starlet...a showgirl, and somehow it all worked out better than I could have hoped. It's unbelievable to me! It seems like I'm always on a set saying, "I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe they are letting me wear these clothes and these jewels!" I'm really a small town girl from Michigan who has a good laugh that being a fancy-pants stripper got me here!
LN: You have worked with some of the world’s most famous photographers, have any of them managed to capture you in the same way you perceive yourself?
DvT: I like to see the differences between each photographer; each has a different style and obtains a different end result.
I liked the photos that were taken of me for Vogue in Paris earlier this year; they were taken with one of those big antique 8x10 sized cameras. I was also very happy to be the subject of three Pierre et Gilles portraits, which was a great experience, as I have been a longtime fan of their work.
LN: Having traveled all over the world, you must have seen many beautiful places but is there one that has been particularly breathtaking/inspirational?
DvT: Paris. I go there four to six times a year and I always feel as though I could stay there forever. I love its beauty, its history, and also the Parisians' appreciation of elegance, art and fashion, and their pride in their city. I live it in the wintertime, when the Eiffel Tower is lit with twinkling lights! It's a magical place.
LN: What do you do to relax after a long photo shoot or performance?
DvT: I have a huge, deep spa bathtub, so I sit there for a good long time, usually with all four of my pets sitting near the edge of the tub!
It takes a while to unwind after a show, so I am usually up until four or five in the morning.
LN: In recent years you have received a lot of mainstream media coverage. Do you feel this had made the modeling industry become more accepting of more alternative styles?
DvT: I am flattered that you would say so, I don't know. For many years I thought I was never going to be on any covers except fetish and alternative magazine covers, and that has changed.
LN: How do you feel about the increasing number of burlesque troupes that are performing across the world and do you feel you have played a part in this revival?
DvT: In 1993 when I started performing burlesque there were only a handful of other performers, and now there are countless acts and troupes, and beyond that, all of Hollywood is jumping on the bandwagon! I remember doing burlesque shows in the fetish scene around 1997 in the midst of fire and piercing shows, and some people criticized my act as not being "fetish" enough, and now burlesque is a standard thing to have at every fetish party. They finally get it! I think it's great that there are burlesque acts all over the world for people to see, and I think that with more and more performers getting into it, the shows get better and the bar is raised for the quality of the shows.
LN: What do you feel has been the key to your success?
DvT: Remembering that everyone can be replaced by someone younger, more beautiful, and more talented...so it's important to not take anything for granted, and to continue to work hard, evolve, and above all, be pleasant to be around. It's also key to be unique, and not just to copy what makes someone else successful, but to realize that it comes from being your own person.
LN: Do you particularly admire anyone’s work (past or present)?
DvT: Of course. I look up to Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand....and I admire my best friend Catherine D'Lish. She's got terrific shows, and she makes all of my stage costumes.
LN: What are your favorite pastimes?
DvT: I have two classic cars, a 1939 Chrysler and a 1965 Jaguar S-type, so I love to spend the day or evening out and about driving them.
I love to go to antique flea markets on weekends to shop for art deco collectables. I collect all sorts of things...rare antique hats with real birds on them, vintage powder compacts, bakelite jewelry, vintage dresses and burlesque memorabilia. I have this funny item that Sally Rand, the fan dancer, used to sell as a souvenir at her shows. It's a knit penis cover! It says something like, "men's winter underwear for chilly nights!" and it's a perfectly shaped knit penis cover, still in the gift box with a note from Sally to a fan. That's a pretty racy bit of merchandise for 1939, no?
LN: You seem to have a very unique style. Is there anywhere you look for inspiration whilst creating this look?
DvT: I always look to films and photographs from the 30's and 40s, and I collect books and catalogs full of vintage fashion. I love the old Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs, which have wonderful dresses and the best lingerie! There is a woman who reproduces these things for me, as authentic vintage in good condition is getting harder and harder to find.
I also love modern designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Galliano, and Marc Jacobs. I recently went to the shows at Paris fashion week and thought I'd died and gone to heaven!
LN: Have you got any major projects lined up for the future?
DvT: I've just shot two major fashion ad campaigns for spring 2005. I recently shot a cover and pictorial for Style Monte Carlo which was on location at The Crazy Horse in Paris, which is one of my favorite burlesque revues; it's been running every night since 1951 and it has such an amazing history and unique style.
I have a fashion story coming out in the UK's Tatler magazine, and another for W magazine. This winter I am doing a lot of parties for the fashion set, and planning a special event for the Los Angeles area at the Queen Mary to debut my two new burlesque acts.
A DVD series of my striptease acts is being released this winter, along with a re-release with bonus footage of the 1930's style bondage serial Dita in Distress.
My book "The Art of the Teese" will be out spring 2005, and my pinup style cookbook also published with Harper-Collins is due for publication in fall 2005.
There are lots of other big projects are in the works that I can't yet disclose!
For further information about Dita von Teese, visit her fan club.
By Laura Nixon
SG username: Perversia
credits: suicidegirls.com
Laura Nixon: What led you to first deciding you wanted to be a model and how did you get started?
Dita von Teese: I have been a fan of 1940's musicals since I was a very young girl, and I always wanted to dress like the women I admired in these films.... Hedy Lamarr, Betty Grable and Gene Tierney, Rita Hayworth to name a few. Later on as a teenager I started looking for vintage pinup images in books and old nudie magazines, and when I was 18, I began recreating some of these types of nostalgic photos for fun, and around 1992, near the start of the internet, I began a website with these photos.
I wandered into a fetish store sort of by accident in 1990 in search of a Victorian corset, and that's how I became interested and motivated to become a fetish model.
I was shocked that at that time there wasn't anyone emulating Bettie Page, although she clearly had many many fans, so that's another reason I started taking fetish photos. I liked the fact that the nudity wasn't what fetishists were after so much as the exotic clothing.
LN: How did you get involved in burlesque?
DvT: As I said, I loved pinups from the 30s and 40s, and I had all of these men’s magazines from the era, and they were filled with racy photos of burlesque dancers. I started working in a strip club when I was 19, and I was the only dancer around wearing seamed stockings, corsets and actually undressing onstage rather than simply strolling out in a spandex dress and bikini! People generally thought I was a little crazy, but I had a great time dressing and undressing, planning costumes for the stage. I began developing more of a real act, and once I had become more visible in the fetish scene and known from my appearances in Playboy's Newsstand specials, I had some recognition as a magazine model and so I began touring as a headlining act in strip clubs all over the US. This was a bit before the big "burlesque revival" took off, around 1994.
LN: Do you prefer intimate photo shoots or the thrill of live performance?
DvT: Both are fun in their own ways...I love live performance because I get to meet my fans, and performing is where my heart is.
Most of the photo shoots I do aren't very intimate, there are usually between ten to twenty people on the set.....but I've been having a good time doing these fashion shoots and having the opportunity to wear these extraordinary couture gowns and millions of dollars worth of diamonds!
LN: Looking back, did you ever think that you’d be where you are today when you first started?
DvT: Not at all, it's pretty surreal.... I am grateful every day for the success I've had, and for how lucky I am to have such amazing opportunities.
I grew up wanting to be a 40's starlet...a showgirl, and somehow it all worked out better than I could have hoped. It's unbelievable to me! It seems like I'm always on a set saying, "I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe they are letting me wear these clothes and these jewels!" I'm really a small town girl from Michigan who has a good laugh that being a fancy-pants stripper got me here!
LN: You have worked with some of the world’s most famous photographers, have any of them managed to capture you in the same way you perceive yourself?
DvT: I like to see the differences between each photographer; each has a different style and obtains a different end result.
I liked the photos that were taken of me for Vogue in Paris earlier this year; they were taken with one of those big antique 8x10 sized cameras. I was also very happy to be the subject of three Pierre et Gilles portraits, which was a great experience, as I have been a longtime fan of their work.
LN: Having traveled all over the world, you must have seen many beautiful places but is there one that has been particularly breathtaking/inspirational?
DvT: Paris. I go there four to six times a year and I always feel as though I could stay there forever. I love its beauty, its history, and also the Parisians' appreciation of elegance, art and fashion, and their pride in their city. I live it in the wintertime, when the Eiffel Tower is lit with twinkling lights! It's a magical place.
LN: What do you do to relax after a long photo shoot or performance?
DvT: I have a huge, deep spa bathtub, so I sit there for a good long time, usually with all four of my pets sitting near the edge of the tub!
It takes a while to unwind after a show, so I am usually up until four or five in the morning.
LN: In recent years you have received a lot of mainstream media coverage. Do you feel this had made the modeling industry become more accepting of more alternative styles?
DvT: I am flattered that you would say so, I don't know. For many years I thought I was never going to be on any covers except fetish and alternative magazine covers, and that has changed.
LN: How do you feel about the increasing number of burlesque troupes that are performing across the world and do you feel you have played a part in this revival?
DvT: In 1993 when I started performing burlesque there were only a handful of other performers, and now there are countless acts and troupes, and beyond that, all of Hollywood is jumping on the bandwagon! I remember doing burlesque shows in the fetish scene around 1997 in the midst of fire and piercing shows, and some people criticized my act as not being "fetish" enough, and now burlesque is a standard thing to have at every fetish party. They finally get it! I think it's great that there are burlesque acts all over the world for people to see, and I think that with more and more performers getting into it, the shows get better and the bar is raised for the quality of the shows.
LN: What do you feel has been the key to your success?
DvT: Remembering that everyone can be replaced by someone younger, more beautiful, and more talented...so it's important to not take anything for granted, and to continue to work hard, evolve, and above all, be pleasant to be around. It's also key to be unique, and not just to copy what makes someone else successful, but to realize that it comes from being your own person.
LN: Do you particularly admire anyone’s work (past or present)?
DvT: Of course. I look up to Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand....and I admire my best friend Catherine D'Lish. She's got terrific shows, and she makes all of my stage costumes.
LN: What are your favorite pastimes?
DvT: I have two classic cars, a 1939 Chrysler and a 1965 Jaguar S-type, so I love to spend the day or evening out and about driving them.
I love to go to antique flea markets on weekends to shop for art deco collectables. I collect all sorts of things...rare antique hats with real birds on them, vintage powder compacts, bakelite jewelry, vintage dresses and burlesque memorabilia. I have this funny item that Sally Rand, the fan dancer, used to sell as a souvenir at her shows. It's a knit penis cover! It says something like, "men's winter underwear for chilly nights!" and it's a perfectly shaped knit penis cover, still in the gift box with a note from Sally to a fan. That's a pretty racy bit of merchandise for 1939, no?
LN: You seem to have a very unique style. Is there anywhere you look for inspiration whilst creating this look?
DvT: I always look to films and photographs from the 30's and 40s, and I collect books and catalogs full of vintage fashion. I love the old Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs, which have wonderful dresses and the best lingerie! There is a woman who reproduces these things for me, as authentic vintage in good condition is getting harder and harder to find.
I also love modern designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Galliano, and Marc Jacobs. I recently went to the shows at Paris fashion week and thought I'd died and gone to heaven!
LN: Have you got any major projects lined up for the future?
DvT: I've just shot two major fashion ad campaigns for spring 2005. I recently shot a cover and pictorial for Style Monte Carlo which was on location at The Crazy Horse in Paris, which is one of my favorite burlesque revues; it's been running every night since 1951 and it has such an amazing history and unique style.
I have a fashion story coming out in the UK's Tatler magazine, and another for W magazine. This winter I am doing a lot of parties for the fashion set, and planning a special event for the Los Angeles area at the Queen Mary to debut my two new burlesque acts.
A DVD series of my striptease acts is being released this winter, along with a re-release with bonus footage of the 1930's style bondage serial Dita in Distress.
My book "The Art of the Teese" will be out spring 2005, and my pinup style cookbook also published with Harper-Collins is due for publication in fall 2005.
There are lots of other big projects are in the works that I can't yet disclose!
For further information about Dita von Teese, visit her fan club.
By Laura Nixon
SG username: Perversia
credits: suicidegirls.com
http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/52212008.jpg?x=x&dasite=GettyImages&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=AB27D0502010942195534B1B9E10FCFBFDB6F18474079B3FAC9EDBE4E6F952F6
Her hair is sooooo Funny :-)))
my favourite dress on her, purple is hER color!!
Not her best choice, but still pretty... in my opinion.
