The Life of a Showgirl: Baby, That’s Show Business
Worn On: 10/3/25 // the life of a showgirl
the commentary
As seen elsewhere in The Life of a Showgirl photoshoot, Taylor opted to pay true homage to showgirl aesthetic by pulling original costumes from the long-standing Vegas show Jubilee! for her album visuals. Designed by the inimitable Bob Mackie, his influence is all over the glittering designs of showgirl finery. It’s my best guess that Taylor reached out to her previous collaborator (and famed burlesque dancer) Dita Von Teese for the assist in integrating true showgirl iconography into this album photoshoot.
This particular cover feels set apart from the rest of the variants we’ve seen simply due to Taylor - for the first time - not being alone. She’s joined by some of the dancers from the Eras Tour (Natalie Lecznar, Tori Evans, Audrey Douglass, Swift, Taylor Banks and Sydney Moss). It makes for a striking visual. Taylor, center, looks up into the spotlight - the only showgirl on stage not flashing a winning smile. It has me curious about the intention of the choice and, further to that, if this serves as the photographic counterpoint to any of the themes explored on the album. One thing I love about the mood of the photography we’ve seen - hats off to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott - is how crisp everything is, shadows included. The way you can see the double layered tights and the flesh tones of the costumes almost works to break apart the dreamy and smoothed expectation of the showgirl. I wonder if these images that seem to capture either the moments between or the stark realities of a show correlates with Taylor’s described album theme of “everything that was going on behind the curtain.”
the clothes
* Not available for purchaseDetail Photo by Gabe Ginsberg via Getty Images // Feature Photo by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott