The story behind Pamela Anderson’s dazzling costumes in ‘The Last Showgirl’

From the earliest beats of The Last Showgirl – Gia Coppola’s third directorial feature, originally conceived by Kate Gersten as a play, now largely revered as Pamela Anderson’s comeback vehicle – it’s established that the film’s extravagant outfits will play a vital role, and that the choreography required to navigate their excess, introduced via an obstructive door handle, carries subtext. ‘That thing is asking for ripped costumes,’ vents one Las Vegas dancer to another near the picture’s beginning, her demeanour already tense on account of a costume change. Barely seconds after, having ripped a substantial hole in a wing on the same lever, Anderson’s protagonist echoes the accusation, quietly lamenting that it’s the oldest wing in the show.

‘The important thing was to make sure we got the right showgirl clothes. Without that, it was going to be a problem,’ says costume designer Jacqueline Getty, who collaborated with Rainy Jacobs on the film’s sartorial components. The ripped wing in question was an archive piece borrowed from Caesars Palace: all of the film’s stage costumes, with the exception of the wing, were Jubilee! originals, designed by Bob Mackie and Pete Menefee for the long-running production, which shuttered in 2016 after 35 years. A friend of Coppola’s, Dita Von Teese, was already using Jubilee! pieces in her Vegas residency in late 2023, and ultimately made the connection. ‘It was incredibly lucky,’ acknowledges Getty, ‘and really set the tone, the realness.’

‘The Last Showgirl’: the story behind the showstopping costumes

Shot on 16mm, The Last Showgirl is visually rich and tenderly observed, leaning into the nostalgic lens of Lisa Eisner and David Hickey’s 2006 monograph The Book on Vegas, with a dreamy, feminine aesthetic that’s attuned to the feathers and rhinestones worn on stage and screen. ‘We were ambassadors for style and grace,’ observes Shelly (Anderson) at one point, highlighting to her young counterparts, played by Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka, the former influence of their revue show, Le Razzle Dazzle. In the film’s present, the show is about to close and Shelly, its most senior dancer at 57, is realising she’s ill-equipped for much else, having given 30 years to it, effectively rejecting a marriage and life with her daughter as a result. Much of the film’s action subsequently takes place in the show’s dressing room, the centre of her world, where glittering gowns provide a sugar-coated backdrop.

‘A month before shooting, my best friend Arianne Phillips [costume designer on A Complete Unknown] flew up to Vegas with me,’ continues Getty. ‘We got to go through the archives and pick what we wanted; it was complete candy. Pam tried all the pieces and you could see her posture change – those headpieces are really heavy. On movies you wear those things for ten hours – they're meant for wearing on stage for ten minutes.’ While a seamstress was on hand to alter garments for the actors’ frames (dancers are usually around 5ft 10in suggests Getty, actors between 5ft 2in and 5ft 6in), the vintage nature of the pieces meant all those on set were party to their preservation. ‘If crystals fell, everyone would dive [to catch them], because you've got to sew them back on – they were museum pieces, they don't make them anymore.’

Off stage, Shelly’s life remains tethered to the show – her best friend Annette, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is a former dancer now working in the casinos, while ex-boyfriend Eddie (Dave Bautista) is the stage manager. Her wardrobe reflects this too, with details like the diamante fringe that adorns an otherwise plain denim jacket. ‘Pam went through everything, she knew pieces of Shelly and would say, “Shelly wouldn't wear this”, or, “she would like this”,’ notes Getty, who kept everything second-hand. ‘Shelly’s heyday probably was in the late 1990s, so she would have those silhouettes in her closet, with things from the early 2000s. She wouldn’t have anything brand new.’

Annette, whose trajectory is some years ahead of Shelly’s (and affection toward the show, dwindling at best), dons her own outfit for entertaining, serving drinks to handsy gamblers in a shiny bellhop uniform with glossy, flesh-coloured tights. ‘Jamie is the best person ever to do costumes with, she’s such a character actress,’ enthuses Getty. ‘She wanted to know Annette’s perfume – she came up with Opium – and had the idea that Annette wouldn't wear jewellery because she’d probably sold her pieces to make money. Also, that Annette all the time would have stockings underneath her pants, the shiny stockings waitresses in Vegas wear – compression stockings for serving drinks – it holds them, and their legs get tired walking around for ten hours. They're like a bathing suit.’

In her own downtime, over the compression stockings, Annette’s wardrobe features floral jeans and cut-out tops, the look’s dated nature underscored by dyed orange hair and frosted make-up. With Bautista’s Eddie meanwhile, whose backstage uniform is filled with darker tones and bold shirts, there’s a vague mirror to Shelly’s favourite era – a nod to their shared history – and perhaps one of the more surprising references, a 1990s pop star, provided Getty’s source material. ‘The silhouette of the jeans is like what you would see Peter Andre wearing in the early 2000s, that vibe,’ she says. ‘They were so unattractive, but [Bautista] was incredible. Eddie has that bit of edge going on, and you’ve got to make it happen fast on camera, so the shirts and leather jacket were a kind of read of his character. He was amazing, how he transformed. I was shocked he got into the character pieces.’

The Last Showgirl is on limited release now, with a full UK release on 28 February.

Watch the trailer below.

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