What does modern glamour look like today? It’s dangerous, decadent, daring. In a word: Gabbriette. She’s the name on everyone’s lips—and everyone’s Instagram feed, with a face you simply can’t scroll past. For our V157 Winter 2025 cover story, the musician-turned-model-turned-scream-queen-in-the-making sat down with burlesque icon Dita Von Teese to discuss the timeless allure of old Hollywood, and how both women channel the unapologetic, femme-fatale energy of the Golden Age’s most notable heroines.

DITA VON TEESE: I never interviewed anybody before.

GABBRIETTE: I just thought this made sense, because I don’t like being interviewed. It’s my least favorite thing. And I thought if anyone’s gonna take on [a conversation] about a film noir kind of aesthetic, I wanted it to be Dita.

DVT: Well, thank you for thinking of me.

G: Thanks for doing this! 

DVT: It’s a pleasure. I was thinking back to how you reached out to me about taking pictures [years ago], and then I discovered you and started following you. And I was like, ‘Who’s this hot babe doing these cooking tutorials?’ I was obsessed. 

G: My friends and I from high school have always been obsessed [with you], and when we got out of school and started trying to work in Los Angeles, I remember the only way to contact anyone that we wanted to work with was over DM.

DVT: I’ve met a lot of really great people that I went on to work with, and made friends through Twitter back in the old days, and then now, DM. I always try to check the DMs, because you never know who’s going to slip in.

G: I probably wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for the DM, right? 

DVT: It’s so cool. So, I have some questions for you. I’m not Oprah Winfrey, but I’m gonna do my best.

G: You’re fine. I [tend to] blackout during these things.

DVT: I only recently discovered your Nasty Cherry band. That’s like six years ago, right? So it’s a long time ago.

G: Another lifetime ago. But it’s now resurfacing. I’m not embarrassed at all, but it was definitely a different time in my life. I would do it all over again.

DVT: That’s par for the course because I have a lot of things [where] people go, ‘What about when you did this in the ’90s’ And I’m like, ‘Well, what about it?’ I’m doing the same thing with more rhinestones now. But did you ever predict you were going to shift into what you’re doing now?

G: I think this was always the goal. I’ve always loved performing. I did dance, theater, and everything growing up. I think music was on the line to doing what I’m doing now. I think I’m still craving that kind of performance aspect in my life, which is why I ended up auditioning for film and stuff. I’ve always liked that part of modeling as well; the being around people, the dressing up, and the getting to be a different person. Somebody the other day asked me what other job I’d have if I weren’t doing this, and I’m like, [I don’t think I could be] doing anything else. I don’t think I was ever going to give up.

DVT: So was it fashion or music first for you?

G: Music was in my life. I think it wasn’t about me making music, but I discovered my own taste in music really late in life. I was like 17 or 18 when I stopped listening to the top 100s, and had a boyfriend [at the time] that listened to The Smiths, and I was like, who’s Bob Dylan? So through that, I discovered who Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett, Poison Ivy, and all these sick girls were. So I bought a pair of leather pants, and I think my taste in music and the films that I was watching at that point in my life then completely influenced the way that I dressed, and still dress to this day. And then having a Tumblr account, and the things that come up as recommended, all the sick girls like Sky Ferreira, and that 2014 Tumblr era of people that were so mysterious, where you didn’t really know about all these girls because the media wasn’t the same as it is [now]…I was just inspired by all of it.

DVT: Lately, we’ve been seeing you on catwalks for major fashion houses, and, of course, entering the brat-osphere with Charli XCX. What is that like, keeping up with the intensity of those career and life moments? What are your big highlights so far?

G: This is what I’ve always wanted to do. So I think that the more I work, the happier I am. I still can’t believe that I get to do this. I’m always shocked when I’m around all these people who are just young adult teenagers, who happen to do really amazing things, and I’m surrounded by really smart, talented, beautiful, and sweet people. At least that’s who I try and surround myself with, but that happens to just be these really hard-working creatives that I’m always with. Meeting Charli completely changed my life. That’s the highlight for me. Sometimes you don’t feel smart enough, or you don’t feel like you’re doing enough, or you feel like other people are working way harder than you are, but it’s nice to be brought back down in situations where we’re hanging out and know that we’re all kind of feeling the same, and that’s where a lot of the creativity and drive comes from. I’m happy to be living in this time for it. I always want to think that I was meant to be in the ’70s, or the ’50s, or whatever, but I think I was meant for the Brat era.

DVT: I feel like there’s a huge arc in my life with who I was in the early ’90s, being a glamor model, and how much the landscape has changed with the invention of the internet. It’s weird to live through these crazy innovations and how it changes [everything]. But I’m really grateful that I’m still doing it on my own terms, whereas starting it was very much beneath the male gaze; that’s what it was, and now I have the opportunity for it to have evolved into something different. It’s fun to watch new people innovate and come into this, new entertainers and pop stars, it’s so interesting. 

G: I think right now more than ever, some icons have always been around and stuck around. But there’s something happening right now where all of the ‘90s supermodels are also just making a really great comeback.

DVT: Yeah, it’s really cool that people are seeing it that way now. I feel excited for young women that get to grow up in this time where people are more—I’m not going to say they’re becoming less agist and less sexist and less of all these things—but I feel like there’s a different awareness now than what I grew up with.

G: I was thinking about this because the whole theme of the shoot was film noir and old Hollywood. I was thinking about the actresses at that time, and how there is a conversation about them being looked down on by men and being sexualized in film and everything. I kind of feel like that was part of the mystique behind it; that they were always the point of conversation in the film, and they were [actually] able to act. We talked about Lauren Bacall a lot behind this [shoot]; she was such a strong woman in her time. She was such a badass. I think some of the conversations can get skewed sometimes…

DVT: I love to read autobiographies by these women. Lauren Bacall has a great one. Actually, she has two, and it’s amazing when you really look at what she went through at such a young age. Along with some of the bad things about the past, there are also women who stood out, like Mae West, who did not get taken advantage [of]. She was paid higher than any male actor or any studio boss [at that time]. There’s always exceptions, so I feel like there’s good and bad about the past. I’ve personally always been happy to live in the present.

G: Yeah.

DVT: So, you’ve actually recently entered the acting world with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Can you tell me about that experience? Did you always have an interest in acting? What is it that you love about acting?

G: I have always been interested in acting. I didn’t think that I would ever do it seriously, but when I came to LA, I wanted to be a background dancer or a tour dancer, which didn’t end up happening. 

DVT: Don’t worry. There’s time. 

G: I always auditioned, but I was too nervous, and I never took classes, so I felt like people worked harder than me, which is always a thought, so I sort of wasn’t confident enough in my own skin to create characters and be strong enough to let go of all of my insecurity. So I didn’t really do a lot of it until after COVID, and then I booked this. I’ve been on sets and I’ve done commercials and stuff, but there’s a different air when you’re in a really high-budget movie, and [one that was] as fun as this one was. I’ve always loved being around big productions, and set design is one of my favorite things. I love interiors, and I love how people make spaces and bring certain places to life. Every day, I just could not believe that I was working [on set], and that it was a job. I was getting covered in blood and being chased around by a killer. I know that there are harder versions of this and more intense versions, and I would be up for that, of course. I couldn’t believe it. I want to do it a million times over. It was so fun.

DVT: Yeah, I love dipping into that world. 

G: You’ve done movies, have you not? 

DVT: Yeah, I studied with Ivana Chubbuck. She’s this crazy acting coach who’s amazing. She gets thanked in Oscar speeches [all the time], and I got thrown into one-on-one acting classes with her for like two years in preparation for a role I never did. The experience of actually studying acting…I love being surrounded by all these interesting people and studying all their jobs, and it’s really cool. [Though], I don’t really think I have that thing in me that wants to sit there with a script and analyze. Acting doesn’t move me. But I’m always curious about the people who are interested in the really deep part of figuring it all out.

G: The deepness of it, I don’t think that follows me in any aspect of my life, which I have grown to love about myself. I used to be worried about not being smart enough or not being well-versed in so and so. I think that my kind of take on a lot of life’s things is a good thing. My goal in film is to hold a sword and run around and have a lot of fun. I’m the same as you. I don’t think that I could take on a really intense role. I would leave that up to the people with the big chops.

DVT: I feel like I could do that if I didn’t have a thousand other things to do that make me money, things that come easily to me, like showbiz. I do love all these other jobs that people do on a big movie or TV show.

G: Oh my gosh, it’s insane. We were in a fitting for probably two 10-hour days, and I only had two outfits, so I couldn’t imagine the other people, but it was just a process. There’s so much thought that goes behind it.

DVT: So you star opposite other great actors, like Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, and Tyriq Withers. What did you learn and enjoy most while working alongside them?

G: I was kind of in a weird place for that. I was alone in Australia, I was shooting the first and the last day, and since it was my first film, I think I was just so excited to be there, but I was only on set for eight or 10 days out of the almost three months that I was there. So I learned a lot about patience. (*laughs*) I learned a lot about these people who are my same age [and] have such an insane work ethic, and they were able to come to set and be really nice to be around, and at the same time have so much to do and accomplish under such a high-stress environment. It was a very chill set. But also having Sony be behind it, you have to get everything done in time, and you need to have your lines. It was such a different way of working for me. I also learned about friendship. I made a real friend out of it for the first time in a long time. It was like summer camp. We had to have dinner together, or else you were alone. It takes a lot for me to get out of my house, because I like to be home when I’m not working, with my pets and stuff. So I had to really step out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot about myself. It was like the happiest and the hardest time of my summer. That was a year ago. That was over winter, but it was summer in Australia.

DVT: And then you have the Australian jet lag, which is crazy.

G: Yeah, I never thought that I would have ever gone to Australia.

DVT: Did you get some kangaroos? 

G: No, I did the walk over the Sydney [Harbour] Bridge, at least. I also just ate a lot, it was nice.

DVT: I saw a sneak peek at one picture from your cover shoot for V, who does the most amazing photoshoots. Of course, I know that it’s inspired by legendary old Hollywood. So I wanted to ask you about that, and your thoughts on that, and how you feel inspired about about classic Golden Age.

G: The ’40s and ’50s are one of the [big] ones for me, especially revolving around the beauty aspect and the mystery behind all of that, because there was no social media. All these women created exactly who they wanted to be. And I [found that] really empowering. Every now and then, I’ll go back and forth, put my hair in rollers because I love my hair up like that. I think there’s a mystique behind all of it that I’ve always really appreciated. I myself have never felt like the most outspoken or eloquent person, so I think I’ve always appreciated that [in these women], and I’ve wanted to adapt some of that into my daily life. I’ve always felt the most beautiful in some sort of pin-up, true 1940s glam. I don’t think there’s anyone else really bringing it forward like you always have, but I get what Stephen [Gan] was going for with the shoot, [and Lauren Bacall] being the inspiration for this. I’ve always loved her; her face is insane.

DVT: Yeah, I met her once, and I dropped my fork at a restaurant because I was so stunned. I was sitting with Christian Louboutin, and we were in New York, and suddenly I saw her, and I dropped my fork, and he was like, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I couldn’t even speak. He said, ‘Oh, you just saw Lauren Bacall.’ And quickly he said, ‘She’s going to probably come over here and say hello to me. Don’t speak to her unless she speaks to you.’ And I was like, ‘I get it. I get it,’ because there’s kind of that old Hollywood thing. She walked toward us, put both hands on the table, leaned over, looked me dead in the eye, and said, ‘Pardon me for interrupting your conversation,’ then took a big breath and turned to Christian and started speaking to him. And that’s all I ever needed.

G: Oh my god! You know, I went through this whole thing this last year with everyone saying that people were copying my eyebrows or whatever, which I 100% did not invent. I don’t want people to have this narrative without me. I’ve always been so inspired by other people that I find it so fun, and I’ve never felt like I have any ownership of anything. Do you ever feel [a certain way] about people stepping into burlesque, [and doing it] not historically accurate or anything?

DVT: I don’t really do things historically accurate myself. When I was first playing with vintage glamor in the early ’90s, I was super specific. I knew what year of the 1940s I was dressing in, I wore the underwear, and everything was exact. As time went on, I kind of mixed things up, like my cat eye, that’s not ’40s style, but I pair it with ’40s clothes and ’40s hair, so I kind of just grew into my own. I feel like that’s just for me, especially with burlesque; it was always about furthering it and doing things that had never been done on stage before. A lot of people don’t see that because they don’t know about the history of Burlesque. I’ve studied it, so I always thought, ‘I’m not going to copy what was done in the past, I’m going to do something totally new’.

G: I love that. Everyone go see Dita’s show! We should put that in this interview.

DVT: Thank you! 

G: You’ve shot with Steven [Klein] too, haven’t you?

DVT: Yeah, one of the things I was going to ask you was ‘How racy did your shoot get?’ Because I was posing naked for Steven all the time. [I remember] I was sitting by myself at the Alexander McQueen S/S 2005 show, the one that was all the chess pieces, and he came over to me and asked me about shooting, and that was how I met him. I was always naked on his shoots. And I was like ‘Whatever you want, Steven’.

G: Yeah, first shoot that we did, I got to bring my really close friend and stylist who worked on this shoot for V as well, and we had this idea for it to be kind of like I was an assassin, essentially. And by the end of the day, there was caviar being put on my bare crotch. 

DVT: If you’re gonna do it, Steven Klein’s a person to do it with.

G: I totally agree. And yes, there were a few boobs in this.

DVT: Great. He’s amazing. I just have one last question, but I think you kind of touched on it. But what is most interesting about the movie-making world now that you’ve had your first sampling of it?

G: All the process, the production, and all the behind-the-scenes. I think if I don’t end up getting cast in another film, I’ll just ask to work on either the special effects or the set design or something, because I could have sat on set and watch till they built an entire building front in like, 12 hours. It was insane.

DVT: One of the things I love about it, too. A super young teenager [will] be like, ‘I want to get into acting’, and once you’re on a set, you might actually find these other jobs more fascinating, because not everybody is meant to be in front of the camera. And honestly, I always think of the people that are living in these big, beautiful houses in the Hollywood Hills—most of them are script supervisors, you know, they’re people that did that work on these long shows. They have great careers, and it’s not just on-camera talent. I’m really personally fascinated by all those jobs as well.

G: Well, if there’s ever another really fabulous horror film, I want you to do it.

DVT: Oh my god, I would love to be a scream queen. I was always doing bondage movies in the early ’90s, kind of those The Perils of Pauline, not quite the Scream Queens things, because I knew all those gals like Julie Strain. The scream queen existed differently then, and even before that, where it was a lot of sexploitation type films. So I knew all those girls, but I was never really one of them. I was just a bondage queen.

G: Well, that’s really fab, too.

DVT: So I couldn’t scream. I was ball gagged and bound, wiggling around, pleading.

G: So good, it’s insane. I saw your Architectural Digest [home tour], and my jaw [was] on the floor the entire time.

DVT: Oh, thank you. I think a lot of people who are normally followers of Architectural Digest were [probably] like, ‘What is this mess?’ 

G: I normally don’t click on those videos because I feel weird being in people’s houses.

DVT: You’re welcome anytime.

G: Thank you, babe. Oh my gosh, [I should] really try and come to one of your shows soon in Vegas, right?

DVT: Yeah, anytime. Let me know, and bring that camera with you that you asked me about originally [in my DMs]. We’ll do some sexy shots. I’ll turn the camera on you, too. Now that I know that you’re willing to get your tits out.

This story appears in the pages of V156: now available for purchase!

Photography Steven Klein

Fashion Patti Wilson

Interview Dita Von Teese

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Makeup Kabuki using MAC Cosmetics

Hair Akki Shirakawa (Art Partner) using Oribe

Manicure Honey (Exposure)

(For Gabbriette) Personal Stylist Bailey Rose Quinones

Model (in background) Zeke Lindsey (Soul Artist Management)

Steven Klein Studio Manager Chris McCoy

Editor Kevin Ponce

1st Assistant Dylan Garcia

2nd Assistant Ari Sadok

Digital Camera Assistant Sam Dole

Digital Technician Hunter Sketch

Digital Imaging & Finishing Joshua Cummings

Photo Assistant Natasha Peterson

Photo Intern Rocco (Ho Quoc Anh)

Stylist Assistants Joseph Reyes, Nathan Watson

Tailor Cha Cha Zutic

Hair Assistant Karen Arechiga

Makeup Assistant Deney Adam

Executive Producer Mara Weinstein

Producers Deb Tam, Eppy

Co-Producer Cristobal Solorzano

Production Company Radish

Production Assistant Kaylin Skye

Creative Contributor Stiven Lopez

Production Intern Victoire Heyworth, Zach Davis

Fashion Interns Jessica Ahialey, Elijah Hollingsworth, Max Reid, Gabby Buchan, Jolie Avignone