Some of you will love her, some will loathe her, but it’s nigh impossible to ignore how significant Lady Gaga is, not only in the cut-throat and competitive music scene, but also in the fashion industry.
2. LADY GAGA
A born exhibitionist, and one to always strive to push the parameters of the norm, she is any designer’s dream. Often compared to the likes of Madonna and Grace Jones, she is sometimes burdened with the reputation of being a cheap imitation of the past artists. I completely disagree. After all, fashion and music are meant to be inspirational, and of course we all take elements just like she has and future creative’s will. She is still very much an individual in her concepts and style. Fashion comes around in cycles by rule of thumb, so nothing will ever be ‘original’ by this assumption, it will always harness something of the past.
Just like the Bauhaus which ran from 1919-1933 did for art and revolutionising art/creativity in society, Gaga has done just as good a job with her music and tireless hard work, making people appreciate art and eccentricity. It seems somewhat fitting that she formed the Haus of Gaga, a nod back to one of the most influential design buildings in the world. The Haus of Gaga is the personal creative team behind Gaga. The members alongside Gaga are responsible for creating most of her clothing, props and stage sets. Her members include some of the most eclectic creatives, from DJs to stylists.
“She walked into my office in 2007 wearing fishnet stockings, a leotard, big black sunglasses, and confidence. Too much confidence. She walked in as a superstar .
- Lisa Robinson, 2012
The grimy clubs and unconventional population of the Lower East Side also clearly influenced her subsequent fashion choices, which have tended toward the radical and the ultra-artsy. As Vogue’s editor in chief Anna Wintour wrote in the May 2011 issue, Gaga’s style is truly boundary-pushing. Along with her longtime stylist, Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga dreams up outrageous—and sometimes shocking—outfits, like the “meat dress” she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Made of pieces of raw flank steak stitched together, it was an immediate conversation piece that drew the ire of PETA and other animal-rights groups; it was also later named Time magazine’s top fashion statement of 2010 and became part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2011 exhibit “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.”
It’s in this tradition of clothing as performance art as provocation as declaration of independence, Lady Gaga remains an astonishing individual. As the designer Karl Lagerfeld succinctly declared: “I hate average, and she is anything but average."
O x
