Dita Von Teese and the new females

I must admit that when I think about Dita, the first thought is of disbelief: how did she could have had a relationship with Marilyn Manson for seven years, and marry him? The more difficult question, however, is this: how did she managed to touch him and – probably – kiss him? I stop here because I need to interrupt the chain of gruesome images that come to mind, calm down and to on telling about her artistic astonishing career: a woman who revolutionized costumes of our time (even because, with the love-affaires that followed Marilyn Manson, she gives the impression to have cut her link with the world of Hades).

Her charisma has been so powerful not only to steal her from fetish or strip niche worlds and make her land on world’s most prestigious stages, but has made her a revolutionary icon of fashion and costume.
Her love for the ’40s, for those linen and style, her taste in re-interpreting lines, colors and shapes, made sure that the retro wave overwhelmed the underwear world (for example, in 2008 she created a lingerie line for Wonderbra inspired to herself, and acts as testimonial for Agent Provocateur and Frederick’s of Hollywood), but especially the world of women’s fashion in its entirety (Christian Louboutin designs and customizes shoes for every show of hers).

Muse for many designers, they wanted her on their catwalks (like Moschino and Jean-Paul Gaultier) and many top magazines struggles to have her photos and interviews (the exclusive shooting of her gothic marriage with Marily Manson was Vogue’s).
And then the burlesque, that thanks to her came out of the underground world to become the most acclaimed artistic entertainment.
“Dita is a remarkable woman – tells me Virgil Riccomi of Retro Voodoo De Luxe Agency - who has been able to become entrepreneur of herself starting from nothing and giving birth to worldwide scale phenomenon, unimaginable only a short time before”
“Her image, to which she looks after with great care – Virgil continues – has become inspiration and iconography. Unfortunately this has created a standardization of burlesque when someone wanted to make a crude commercial use of it. In fact, the burlesque is the art of expression of women uniqueness, which is by nature different from woman to woman.”

Dita Von Teese & Voodoo De Luxe team

Indeed I remember a show organized by Voodoo De Luxe, and performers were not all using corsets and gloves: the stage was the result of many kinds of fantasies.
“For this reason – he says – I never wanted Voodoo De Luxe performer, replicate Dita’s shows: every artist has to express its uniqueness, and Dita keeps us very much to hers. When I spent some time with her, I realized she was very well informed of what’s happening in the burlesque world, and approved our artistic choices”
And for this female figure’s evolution that rejects standardization – the same standardization that is killing our life and fantasy – we have only to thank Dita, who was able to create for us another possible collective imagination.