Image by Albert Sanchez
Exalted as the queen of neo burlesque, the self-styled Dita von Teese has carried on a matter-of-fact resurrection of Old Hollywood glamour, channeling the allure of silver screen legends such as Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake, with nods to the sexual aesthetic of Betty Paige. Her third comprehensive book on vintage beauty, entitled Queen of the New Burlesque, is out this December, complementing current designer collaborations with Australian brands including a lingerie line with Oz department store giant Myers, a capsule dress collection with Tony Maticevski, and a cardigan line with the rockabilly inspired label Wheels & Dollbaby. We caught up with the fabulous and flawless Ms. von Teese during the Telstra Perth Fashion Festival, where she was walking the closing catwalk for the latter – headed by Melanie Greensmith and her hubby Mark McEntee, who also happens to be the founder and guitarist of the Divinyls.
How did your collaboration with Wheels & Dollbaby come about?
We met in 2009, I was in London and Melanie was in the same hotel. She sent over some clothes and I loved the brand and packaging. I wrote to thank her and thought it would be great to work together and do a cardigan. It just took off, we’ve already done 20 colors, packaged in a French armoire box. They’ve become collector’s items, girls stack them and tag me in their Instagram posts – they sell on eBay for over $800! It looks really cute on everyone.
Who are some of your favorite designers?
I wore a lot of John Galliano when he was with Dior, and also Lanvin. For summer clothes I wear Wheels & Dollbaby or 50s dresses, and Jean Paul Gaultier, Elie Saab, Zuhad Murad and Jenny Packham for the red carpet. A lot of the designers I wear are people I like as friends and have personal relationships with. As for Australian designers, I’ve worked with Aurelio Costarella and collaborated with Toni Maticevski on a collection of dresses.
How did your fascination with vintage glamour begin?
It started in high school when I didn’t have any money to spend, because my parents didn’t buy me designer jeans. So I started to shop at flea markets and buy vintage clothes. I felt like I could emulate certain looks in vintage, and it wasn’t as cool back then as it is now. I also felt like the beauty aspects of retro glamour really appealed to me, because red lipstick was only $2 and you can have instant glamour.
I hear you have a glamour floor in your house.
I just moved recently, but in my other house I had a whole floor dedicated to my glamour wardrobe. I had one room for all of my shoes, one room for my hats, one for all of my clothes. I’ve been collecting vintage clothes since the early 90s and I have a lot in my collection. But I look at it as more of an archive of antique clothing.
Tell us about your upcoming book Queen of the New Burlesque.
I wanted to write a book that covers my whole philosophy on beauty and glamour, as I felt there wasn’t really a beauty book for people like me. There are all of these beauty books that tell you how to have tasteful or natural makeup, or offer beauty advice from people who have a glam squad. I do my own hair and makeup, I don’t have a team of people. So I wanted to break down what I believe the power of glamour is, what makes us different from each other, beautiful and interesting. It’s full of references to what are not the typical American standards of beauty.
Your image vacillates between glamour girl and femme fatale – which do you think is more of your personality?
I’ve always had this obsession with grownup glamour; when I was a little girl all I ever wanted to be was a grown woman. It’s funny when people see me without makeup and say to me that I look so much younger – but I never wanted to look younger. I’ve always wanted to look like a woman, not a young girl. I think the femme fatale look is about the woman who has power and control and can be a little bit feared. I was always a little shy, but having this image, I felt like I was a strong woman not to be messed with. Still, there were moments in my life when it was hard to meet men, it was intimidating [to them]. I like that intimidating factor of the look of the femme fatale, but it can backfire as well.
What do you love most about Australia?
I think what I love most is that when I come here I feel so embraced. People generally understand what I do and what my glamour mission is. In the US they kind of know me but don’t really know what I do; whereas here burlesque is really embraced. Most of my collaborations have been here, too – my lingerie line, dress line, and cardigan line were all launched here. They believe in me.
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