Dita von Teese is lovely...but she should not jump into the schmatta business.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Dita Von Teese start out as a stripper….excuse me…burlesque performance artist? Don’t get me wrong, I think she is fascinating, beautiful, intriguing, beguiling, bewitched, bothered and bewildered. Surely she is a one-of-a-kind, that is for sure, and her iconic stature is undeniable. But, stripper plenty. So you can imagine my shock and awe at the recent revelation that Dita is considering designing a line of clothing. Clothes designed to be taken off, I guess. Must everyone who achieves any level of celebrity automatically design a line of clothing? I am beginning to feel like a broken record as it seems like every week I am reporting on yet another star-turned-designer. Will this nonsensical trend ever stop? What do we need to do, put Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors and Calvin Kein out of business in order to accommodate the Whitney Ports, Kim Kardashians, and Lauren Conrads of the world? Not to mention Sarah Jessica Parker, Faith Hill (yikes), and Madonna. Literally everyone is going to design a line of clothing so I hereby am revising the famous quote:
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” – Andy Warhol
“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes, then become a fashion designer.” – Abe Gurko
Now here's a pose that looks very natural and comfy.
Come on, Dita. At least stick with your category: nylons, corsets, boudoir-y numbers like floor length lace dusters and crotchless garters, and even kitten heel slides with poofy pom-poms. You could even sneak in a few naughty items like whips and cat o’ nine tails, and leather tie-me-ups. Trust me, that is a huge business and you are poised to make a killing. But so help me, if I see a line of vintage inspired dresses and coats, I will sob uncontrollably that another real fashion designer will no doubt lose some business in order to make room for your Johnny-come-lately dream of becoming a fashion designer. Dita Von Teese…hear me out…stay the toast of the town, rather than becoming a seamstress with a dream.
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Abe, did you read the original interview or just pick up a snippet from the NY Post?
Q:I know you did a line of bras for Wonderbra, but do you ever think you’ll do a full Dita Von Teese clothing line?
A:I might like to, but I would be very careful about how I went about it because I feel like I wouldn’t want to just go into my closet and knock off my favorite designers. I feel like a lot of celebrities do that. They’re, like, “I’m going to have a clothing line!” and meanwhile it’s, like, “Oh, you really loved that Dior suit you borrowed! You loved it so much you knocked it off!” I would be very careful about it. If I did do something like that, I would be very interested in having a lot of my favorite vintage pieces copied because it’s kind of sad there’s a lot of great things that are going to be lost, that can’t be worn again, that people will never get to see the beauty of vintage. It would be great to remake those things from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. You know, a lot of mainstream designers go into the vintage archives and that’s where they get their inspiration, anyway. I would do it that way: I would be inspired by my own vintage pieces and not modern pieces.
That doesn't sound like someone ready to jump on the celebrity/designer band wagon, to me. If she did (and that is a big IF), I like the way she describes her process. Dita majored in costume design in college and rumor has it her collection of vintage clothing is the stuff retro dreams are made of, so would it really be so bad if she did? Here is the complete interview: http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-frisky-qa-dita-…
BTW you can refer to her as a stripper, she often does. Dita has said that since burlesque greats Gypsy Rose Lee, Sally Rand and Lily St. Cyr called themselves strippers she felt she was in good company.
Hi Daddy O'Rama. I actually did read the whole interview. My feeling is that celebrities turned designers is exhausting. I am sure she has an amazing eye for detail….just look at her. It is the branding of people in light of globalization, that just makes me scratch my head every time yet someone else famous takes to the schmatta business. I wish her well. But I also think that the market she could make a killing with is lingerie and accessories. And I reference her as a burlesque performance artist becuase in this word of political correctness…which also is exhausting, I may not have insulted her but who knows who else. Please read this: http://imeanwhat.com/youcallthisfashion/the-end-o…
Thanks for your comments.