Lady Gaga’s 2019 Met Gala outfit has just the right amount of theatrics. Photo: The New York Times
Lady Gaga released her latest album, Mayhem, last month, and with it, she is returning to her old ways of defying fashion rules.
At the press conference, she was seen dancing with fans wearing an eclectic outfit: Puppets And Puppets distressed hoodie, Nicholas K beanie, Comme Des Garcons tutu, and Acne Studios peep-toe shoes with socks.
It was a big change from the glamorous red carpet looks that she transitioned into for her acting career.
Gaga first came to attention on the music scene when she pushed boundaries with her avant-garde costumes – remember how she wore a dress made out of meat at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards?
She wears a dress with an unconventional silhouette to promote Joker: Folie A Deux. Photo: Instagram/Lady GagaHer arrival at the 2011 Grammy Awards in an egg was equally unforgettable.
She views that particular getup as “fashion”.
“We would call this an outfit,” Gaga told British Vogue in 2021, while looking at past pictures. “Everyone calls this the egg, but it’s actually a vessel that was designed by Hussein Chalayan.”
In that same interview, she pointed out that the meat dress was designed by Franc Fernandez, but conceptualised by Haus Of Gaga (the name used to describe her behind-the-scenes creative team).
“It was thrilling to wear. There’s a corset under this, but the corset was sewn to the meat. So, this is actually a garment. They didn’t just drape meat over me,” she noted.
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Gaga began toning down her style starting in 2016. She dropped her outlandish costumes in favour of simpler ensembles.
Speaking to The London Times in conjunction with her Joanne album release that year, she said it reflected her dressing while in the recording studio.
“You can’t make music with a bunch of boys who are staring at a lobster on your head. They are going to get distracted,” she commented, referencing her iconic crustacean hat from 2010.
During her A Star Is Born era, she went down the old Hollywood glamour route. At the film’s premieres in 2018 (and awards shows in 2019), she dazzled in sophisticated evening gowns.
It was then that she turned heads for a different reason.
The Valentino couture gown worn for the 2019 Golden Globes was seen as part of a Cinderella-esque transformation, and landed her on numerous best-dressed lists.
Her Brandon Maxwell Met Gala outfit that same year – while still dramatic (it transformed into four different looks live on the red carpet) – had just the right amount of theatrics without being a gimmick.
Her blue ball gown from the 2019 Golden Globes offers princess vibes. Photo: Valentino
That said, the old Lady Gaga is back. She wore outlandish designer creations to promote Joker: Folie A Deux last year.
The red Celine ballgown seen at one event stood out for its matching puff-sleeve, cropped blazer. There was also the voluminous black Dior dress she paired with a vintage headpiece.
In the music video for Abracadabra (her song released in February, part of the Mayhem album), she served fashion drama in every frame.
At the 2025 Grammys, Gaga already signalled what’s to come.
She stepped out on the red carpet wearing a black ball gown comprising a leather bodice, an asymmetrical draped skirt, statement sleeves and a high collar.
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Just last month at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, she showed off two outfits.
They reinforced her currently preferred gothic-grunge aesthetic: a lace frock with large shoulder pads, plus a Victorian-style vermillion red dress with bell sleeves.
Maybe not yet at the level of a meat dress, but still a visual spectacle all the same.
Perhaps, Gaga has found her balance. She told Elle in January that she feels really at ease about fashion and clothes.
“For me, I’m at a place in my life where I just want to feel like myself in clothes. Whatever that means. So if that’s changing, I just want to go with that feeling.”
