Tropicana Jul-Aug 2018 #119 Hot Stuff

THE GAME CHANGER
How do you define femininity?
I grew up admiring movie stars of the 1940s and 1950s.
To me, that was always the epitome of feminine, and
it made a mark on me from a very young age. I guess I
have always associated that exaggerated femininity with
the definition of feminine; the way a woman enhances
herself with the tools in the beauty box, so to speak. I’ve
always thought of glamour as feminine. That’s what I
love for the outwardly feminine. On the other hand, I
have a different closed door feminine as well, where I
can remove those layers and get to the essence of what
we are trying to exaggerate with the hair and makeup
and the high heels and all the things we do to be hyper
feminine in public.
Your birth name is Heather Sweet and you're a
natural blonde. Why the change to brunette and
the name change to Dita Von Teese?
I started becoming Dita when I was about 19 years old, so
I wasn’t really thinking it through. I didn’t think about
long term, and I certainly never expected to become
famous for being a burlesque dancer and pinup model.
It started as a hobby that I was doing, and in my little
mind I thought by the time I was 30 I would be finished.
And at the time, I was looking to Gypsy Rose Lee and
Lili St. Cyr, and these [burlesque] stars from the past.
These were choices I made when I was younger, and yes,
I always liked the idea of that big Hollywood makeover.
Rita Hayworth’s name was not Rita Hayworth, and Rita
Hayworth had black hair and a widow’s peak that got
removed with electrolysis. There was that big Hollywood
machine, and I was always fascinated with the idea of
these raw beauties becoming transformed into Birds
of Paradise.
In watching you perform, you truly look like you've
stepped out of a time machine from the 1940s and
1950s. Are you comfortable living in this time period?
I’m not living in another time. A lot of my clothes are
modern, and I think about a lot of the modern things
I do, such as updating my apps. I love so many things
about modern technology. Although, I do have a huge
collection of vintage clothing. There was a time in my
“I was always fascinated
with the idea of these
raw beauties becoming
transformed into
Birds of Paradise.”
life when I only wore vintage lingerie, I only drove my
vintage car, I only wore clothes from the 1940s, but
I’ve kind of evolved from that. The burlesque shows we
produce are much different than a show you would have
seen in the 1940s. We’re trying to capture the essence
of those times, but the whole point is to evolve into
something much different than it ever was; to evolve the
history of burlesque. I never want anyone to think that
I’m living in the past. You can look at the past and get
inspiration from it, but it can end up being dusty and
irrelevant if you don’t find ways to make it something
that no one’s ever seen before.
I do love to sit down with some of my favorite
glamour girls of the past. I’m quite good friends with
Mamie Van Doren who was a big 1950s bombshell and is
still around to tell her stories. And I’m friends with Julie
Newmar who, of course, was a great dancer and actress. I
love to ask them about the past, and I love getting advice
from them about the times we are living in and how to
navigate being a glamour girl in modern times.
Would you ever consider sacrificing your brand and
hourglass figure to become pregnant?
There are a few choices that I have made, like making a
conscious decision not to have children, because I think
it may be a good moment in time for some people to step
away from that idea of feeling that it’s required. I think
it’s a conscientious choice for modern times, because of
over population. Throughout my life I always felt like I
was going to quit [burlesque] and have a child, because
I always thought I wanted them. More recently I have
given thought to the unsustainable population growth
and global climate change. Do I think it’s fascinating
when women tell me that the most important and
wonderful job they’ll ever do is raising a child? Yes. Then
I think, “ Oh wow, that’s interesting. I guess I won’t know
what that’s like.” This is such a personal thing to ask a
woman about, because what if I couldn’t have children?
That’s not the case, but it’s such a personal topic.
107 JULY/AUGUST 2018 | TM