Why Taylor Swift’s vintage showgirl outfit is a piece of Las Vegas history | Currently Trending
For Taylor Swift, a new album calls for a new fashion era. And to channel the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas dancer for the life of a showgirl, she and longtime stylist Joseph Cell Falconer turned to a true showbiz icon. In several sparkling shots from her upcoming records artwork, Swift models one of legendary designer Bob Mackey’s costumes from the famous Sin City spectacular Jubilee. Dripping with rhinestones and draped with an over-the-top feather boa, her look is one of the over a thousand Mackie and co-designer Pete Meny created for the show, which ran from 1981 to 2016, making it the longest running review in Vegas history. This week, I spoke with Jose Rodrigo, a costume designer and Las Vegas native who actually worked as a dresser on Jubilee. In recent years, he’s borrowed from the show’s wardrobe archives for Dita Bontis’s Vegas residencies and the 2024 film The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson. What truly differentiates Mackie from anybody else is that we’re looking at 40 years of these costumes being actively used, worn, and archived. And yet, when we dusted them off, the vibrancy, the design, and the structure was still there. They were built with the best of the best. Rodrigo told me he is a master at his craft, and his designs have endured decades. As Mackey himself shared on Instagram Monday, Swift’s costume was worn during the jewel finale sequence of Jubilee, and its bra, undergarments, and armbands are constructed from French wirework with a blush fabric backing for a racy nude illusion effect. Rodrigo told me that inside every Jubilee costume, you’ll find the names of each showgirl who’s worn it over the years. The show was closed in the costumes archive for almost 10 years before Da came in and dusted them off. So truly the credit has to be given to her for really reviving the showgirl aesthetic. He said it’s possible Vontis is also to thank for hooking Swift up with her own Jubilee look. The pair previously collaborated on Swift’s bejeweled music video in 2022. I pulled out all the stops and worked with her costume designer to pull together the right kind of wardrobe for a PG-rated version of what I do with the martini glass. Fontise told me the following year. Adding that swift introduced a whole new generation to what I do. And what Fontis and her fellow burlesque artists do isn’t easy. Rodrigo told me authentic showgirl costumes like those used in Jubilee can weigh anywhere from 10 to 40 lb due to those heavy embellishments. He also said Swift definitely did her historic look justice, telling me, “I don’t think she could have done a better job. Everything was really truly thoughtful and the way that she wears everything, the way that it was styled is I think true to the original. There’s still that reverence to the original design. For more celebrity fashion, head to page six style.
Taylor Swift’s new album calls for a new fashion era. And to channel the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas dancer for “The Life of a Showgirl,” she and longtime stylist Joseph Cassell Falconer turned to a true showbiz icon. Page Six Style and Shopping Director Elana Fishman spoke exclusively with Jose Rodrigo, a costume designer and Las Vegas native who actually worked as a dresser on “Jubilee!” In recent years, he’s borrowed from the show’s wardrobe archives for Dita Von Teese’s Vegas residencies and the 2024 film “The Last Showgirl,” starring Pamela Anderson. Get all the inside details on this episode “Currently Trending” and for more celebrity fashion, head to Page Six Style.
Read more at https://pagesix.com/video/why-taylor-swifts-vintage-showgirl-outfit-is-a-piece-of-las-vegas-history/
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4 Comments
Who really cares
She can't even dance.
She's hot
where's the yellow boa?