Photo by Ali MAHDAVI and Suzanne von Aichinger
Dear Shaded Viewers,
I met Dita Von Teese when I asked her to be in a film that I am making on Mr. Pearl. Dita is the muse of Mr. Pearl.
When I think about Dita’s amazing act for Cointreau, I keep remembering that scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1982 film One From the Heart with Nastassja Kinski in the champagne glass. You most likely know that Dita is the Ambassador for Cointreau. The other day I contacted Dita for a piece that I am writing about her for the next issue of ZOO. I enjoyed everything Dita had to say so I asked her how she would feel if I shared her thoughts with you. She said fine so here we are.
Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/ Fetish and the Art of the Teese, Harper Collins
DP: Can you tell me a bit about the advice that you offer in your book, “Burlesque and The Art of the Teese”, great title, by the way.
DVT: Well, I wrote it at a moment when burlesque was really hitting the mainstream, and I was going a little crazy with the way burlesque was being misrepresented by commercialized burlesque… I was upset about things that were being said about it, that it was being made to be something of a fashion style, or about cute girls wearing fishnets and dancing around singing “Big Spender”, and so one of my goals was to set the record straight and get the history of burlesque- the fact that it was about striptease, not just retro dancing- I wanted to make sure it’s racy past wasn’t forgotten. I felt like some of the media wasn’t being fair to stars of the past that DID strip, like Gypsy Rose Lee, and Lili St Cyr. , so with my book I wanted to explain it’s true history, and how I became so obsessed with this, and how it made me feel to transform myself into a glamorous performer when I felt very ordinary. It seems like a common thread with burlesque, historically, it was the stars that maybe weren’t the most beautiful, the most talented, that became huge stars in burlesque…most of the pretty girls wanted to go to Hollywood and be actresses. And so, like Gypsy, I felt like I could build a name for myself this way, even if it wasn’t 100% acceptable…. and while being my own producer, director… this process of creating a head to toe image, a show, and a business. And for Gypsy, she managed to be a star stripper who emerged from burlesque and made movies, wrote books, had a talk show. So when I think of her career, it always gave me hope that it was possible to take the less-traveled road, to try to be acknowledged for something that some people find offensive! And overall, I really wanted to get the message out to other people that you can make your own glamour, and that there is an alternative to natural, bikini babe beauty…. I never felt like I could fit into that, and I know that I have lots of female fans that feel the same way, so I’m also trying to make sure they know about the fabulous women of burlesque that made their own glamour.
