Dita von Teese on Backstage Rituals, Mastering Confidence and Her Unusual Perfume Hack

Dita Von Teese is a cultural icon. Often referred to as the Queen of Burlesque, her impressive performance career spans three decades. While she may be known for effortlessly swishing around in an enormous crystal martini glass, or for her signature jet black waves and red lipstick, there’s far more to Dita than vintage style and impressive glove peels. She's a businesswoman with her own lingerie line, signature perfumes and French gin. She's an author, having written popular books on beauty and burlesque. And for the last thirty years she has been a fixture in Hollywood, starring in a litany of music videos and movies - from Green Day and Taylor Swift, to Don't Worry Darling and Jungle Red.

Of course, Dita’s love of contemporary strip tease has always been at the beating heart of her career, from her days as a pin-up model in the 90s to her ongoing Las Vegas burlesque shows. But she hasn't just inspired the next generation of performers; she has amassed millions of fans across the world thanks to her unshakeable dedication to glamour, and her unique ability to make it feel exciting, accessible and empowering.

I meet Dita at The Emerald Theatre in London on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Outside, it’s sticky and uncomfortable, and the heat has left the city feeling a little frantic. In a small room backstage, encased by draping velvet curtains and flanked by an ornate dresser, I’m taken aback by her serene and soft demeanour. A week later, I’ll witness Dita’s larger-than-life stage persona as she rides a pink, velvet mechanical bull in front of an excitable audience for her new show, Diamonds and Dust. For now, though, she’s quietly confident, thoughtful, and utterly charming. I talk to her about everything from her early career to creating confidence off stage, and her unusual perfume hack.

Let’s start with your life on stage. What is your creative process like when you’re developing a burlesque act or show?

When I'm coming up with any burlesque act I work very closely with my creative partner, Catherine D’Lish, and we come up with ideas together. Most of my ideas come from spring-boarding off of her, and us coming up with concepts and getting excited about a colour - it's like, “What colour rhinestones are we going to use? What colour feathers?” But a lot of different things drive it. I've often been inspired by things that maybe I see in a 1940s film, but I think, “Oh, wouldn't that be great as a strip tease?” So inspiration comes from everywhere - it's not really hard to come up with ideas, it's harder to come up with the money to do it! Sometimes some of the ideas are halfbaked, and then you spend all this time and money on something and you're like, “I'm not sure that I like that.”

Do you still make your own costumes?

No, I had to delegate. I always say, and it's true: there's nothing that I'm asking other people to do - apart from, like, welding and stuff like that - that I haven't done myself. That's really how I got my start, by crafting my costumes. One of the things we love about burlesque is that it is, historically, about the fact there's not a maestro. You’re self-created, and the women who were the greatest burlesque performers came up with their own concept and ideas, and played them out on stage.

What are your favourite pre-show rituals?

Well, I used to throw back an icy, cold glass of my favourite champagne - but those days ended when I was first in Las Vegas and had to come down this mega staircase. We're talking like a 50 stairs-steep staircase! That was when I was like, “I think I'm gonna quit drinking for a while.” It was really great, because once I didn't rely on that icy, cold glass of champagne to put a spring in my step I found my spring in my step without it. So that ritual is out the door. But the biggest thing is, I don't have hair and makeup people because I want to be by myself, or with one or two people that I feel really cool with.

You’ve previously spoken about the benefit of creating your early burlesque acts in a world before social media. What advice would you give to someone who wants to make original work?

When I was first starting in the 90s, there were very few burlesque performers. I had a coffee the other day and there was a copy of the magazine The Face. They did a profile on all the burlesque stars in the world - and it was like 15 of us! I think it was kind of easier to be original back then. I personally had to base my burlesque shows off of vintage movies I saw, and portraits of burlesque stars. It wasn't until after I was already full-swing in burlesque that I saw real footage, like VHS tapes. I was personally really glad I didn't have the imprint of other burlesque.

What inspired you at the time?

I love that there's so many different styles of dance, but for me as a ballet dancer I based my movement off of Sally Rand because I didn't see anything else. It helps you to be creative when you're not seeing what everybody else is doing. But on the same token, if you don't see what everyone else is doing then you might step on somebody's toes. Some people have the same idea, and it's just evolved into a much different place where it is good to know what's happening in the burlesque world so you know that you're not imitating something that somebody already did.

What's your best burlesque-inspired tip for confidence?

There's lots of things! For me, my burlesque career started with just having fun with it at home. I think tassel twirling is a fun thing to learn at home by yourself. The most important thing is, that it is about bringing playfulness together with eroticism and embracing who you are, and just doing things whether someone's watching or not. Have fun with dressing and undressing - you can perform a strip tease every day before you get into bed. You're going to take those clothes off anyway. It's great if you have somebody to pick it up, too. Turn your partner into a stage kitten.

How do you add little touches of glamour into your life?

You have to just think about what that is for you. For some people it's red lipstick, for someone else it's satin sheets. A thing that I love that doesn't take any extra time out of your day is nice lingerie. That's one of those things where you can open your drawer, have beautiful things… and it doesn't matter who sees it or not. I enjoy it, but some people don't want to wear pretty lingerie. You have to just decide what that is for you, because I don't like telling people what they're supposed to do to be glamorous.

What's the best piece of beauty advice you've ever received?

Sleep on your back. Everybody knows about not smoking and using sunscreen, but I sleep on my back like this - with my arms up so that my shoulders are back, so that my shoulders stay soft and your body feels better. It's better for your face because side sleeping will give you those creases that you don't really want to have early, so sleep on your back. It's not easy to learn, but you can do it. I taught myself during the pandemic - I wish I'd done it 10 years earlier.

It’s a hard thing to train yourself to do…

I know it's hard! I used to love to sleep with my knee pinned up high… one knee up here, and one leg outstretched. Now I sleep on my back, and my cats help me with this because one sleeps here [gestures towards her neck], one sleeps under one arm, and the other one sleeps between my legs. So they keep me pinned down.

What does self-care mean to you?

Mostly self-care to me means sleeping! If I do have a ritual before I go on stage when I'm in Las Vegas or on tour, I lay down flat for like 30 minutes and close my eyes and a meditation sometimes turns into a snooze. A snooz-itation. Self-care for me is getting enough sleep.

Do you ever use fragrances to add an additional sensory layer to your performances?

I wear the same fragrance, but what I do in Las Vegas for instance - people are very near to my feet. There's a long burlesque-style runway and so I walk down the runway and people are eye-to-eye with my feet. I spray my perfume around my ankles, and people definitely get a whiff of it… I don't spray too much, but just enough that you have to try hard to find it.

And lastly, what does your London show, Diamonds and Dust, mean for you at this point in your career?

I have three simultaneous shows that are all so different from each other, and this one is special because it's a plot-driven burlesque spectacle. It's very different from what I usually do - I'm not really into, like, plot [laughs]. Everything I do, I like to call a ‘stripscape’ where the curtains close and you get a new story every time the curtains open. So it was fun to work on the story. It's just very different than anything I've ever done.