Swift stuns in archive pieces for new album
Taylor Swift debuts her latest era to mixed reviews; however, the real stamp of an icon is the ability to open a treasured archive some merely hope to attempt. Flop era or not, Swift has garnered the icon status worthy of opening the sequin gates of fashion heaven. Bob Mackie, 86, or better known as “The sultan of sequins,” has dressed legends, icons, and, of course, the official talent behind every showgirl in Las Vegas.
The ensemble worn by Taylor Swift was designed by Bob Mackie for the
“Jewel Finale” of the Las Vegas show Jubilee! Produced by Don Arden; the show featured over 1,000 costumes based on Florenz Ziegfeld stage shows with elaborate couture costumes worn by the showgirls. It was the longest running showgirl spectacular in history and ran from 1981 to 2016,” Mackie said in a post on instagram. “The bra, undergarments, and armbands are all French wirework and backed with a blush fabric for a nude illusion,” the post further stated.
It’s no question with a title like “The Life of a Showgirl” that Mackie would be summoned to adorn the current “It” girl, women whom Mackie has meticulously and masterfully dressed since 1961. Cher, Diana Ross, Tina Turner and San Antonio native Carol Burnett have all had his stamp of approval—icons whose fame still endures today.
“I was only 22 when I quit art school and went over to Paramount and got the job and [Academy Award-winning costume designer] Edith Head asked me, ‘Do you know how to do strippers?’” Mackie said. “The ladies who drew for her only drew little costumes, which would be a coat and a dress that matched, or a suit. Those women were beautiful artists. They just didn’t do that,” Mackie told Vanity Fair in a recent interview.
“When Cher went off the air on TV and started doing movies, I said, ‘Oh God, I don’t have to do anything like that again,’ And then all of a sudden, it all started coming back, because the children were looking on the internet and seeing pictures of people dressed like that, and all of us, we started getting phone calls. So, I’m like, okay!” Mackie said.
Swift’s Easter egg-filled hype for her album may have overshadowed the album itself, which debuted to mixed reviews. But can we blame the hype? Anything with “Showgirl” in the title and costumed by Mackie himself sets the bar fashionably high.
The self-proclaimed showgirl is seen wearing many archived pieces, some including actual costumes from the beloved Las Vegas show Jubilee. No word yet on how the Swift team managed access to such a scared archive worthy of Vatican protection.
“Swift and her longtime stylist, Joseph Cassell Falconer, clearly did their homework for The Life of a Showgirl. The visuals have trickled out on Instagram and through vinyl variants, in addition to the “Ophelia” music video,” reported Haile Lesavage for Marie Claire Magazine. “In them, we see cinched-tight corsets by Annie’s Ibiza, The Blonds, and Guilds of Hands, referencing late-night cabaret performers. The majority of crystal-covered looks are by Bob Mackie, the designer responsible for dressing pop legends (Cher, Tina Turner, Madonna) and rising stars (Sabrina Carpenter, Zendaya)—specifically, his work for Jubilee!, the longest-running Las Vegas showgirl revue.”
Swift, per usual, is also releasing multiple variants of the album cover— sot after exclusives for retailers—all depicting different looks, some of which Mackie is ever so present.
This new era, which is still yet to be announced if it will have a tour, but considering Swift’s fan base, she will swiftly map out a route. The major question is, will Mackie provide the costumes? If so, a tour would no doubt be a traveling fashion exhibit of Mackie’s masterful work. For a showgirl tour will be incomplete if Mr. Mackie is not at the helm
A new generation is now being cleverly and intricately exposed to possibly the last showman of the fashion world—a crown jewel in the fabric of Americana.