The Party of a Showgirl
Worn On: 10/3/25 // the party of a showgirl
the commentary
Taylor paid true homage to showgirl aesthetic by pulling original costumes from the long-standing Vegas showJubilee! 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, the famed burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese for the assist in integrating authentic showgirl iconography into this album photoshoot. You may remember Von Teese cameoed in Taylor’s “Bejeweled” music video from 2022’s Midnights. For her Vegas residency that paid tribute to the iconic revue, Von Teese unearthed many of the original costumes from the Jubilee! show, aided by The Last Showgirl stylist Jose Rodrigo.
When I spoke to Rodrigo for my newsletter Liner Notes, he was able to pick up on customizations to the Jubilee! Costumes Taylor and her team made. He said, “I also loved noticing the small ways that Taylor’s team would tweak things to work for her and make her vision more personalized … I love that they did that because they took something that was an aesthetic in Jubilee! and made it her own.” That also appeared to be the case with this particular costume as Rodrigo recognized the bones of the headpiece immediately as being from the “Celestial Nights” portion of the Jubilee! show. He told me he believes the headpiece was repurposed and the feather colors changed to align with the Showgirl palette.
As for my thoughts on the theatrical rollout? Much like the Eras Tour film, my view is this directly aligns with Taylor’s stated goal of making her music “an event” - something she said during the New Heights interview. As I see it, this move transforms theatres into living rooms and makes the album listening and learning experience communal for fans. I look forward to grabbing my tickets next week when they go on sale in Canada (9/23 for anyone else wondering!).
For more on my illuminating conversation with Jose Rodrigo, head to the Liner Notes newsletter on Substack below.
the clothes
* Not available for purchaseFeature Photo by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott