Lady Gaga Arrives In Venice Channeling Vintage Movie Star Glam

Lady Gaga might be playing a deranged clown in Joker: Folie à Deux, but she arrived in Venice last night in sleek movie star style.

As has been tradition for many stars in years past, Mother Monster and her fiancé Michael Polansky entered Venice via water taxi. Gaga channeled the Ladies Who Lunch trend, donning a long sleeve black and white polka dot dress by La Roxx—dots of all shapes and sizes have been everywhere this year at Venice, with the likes of Cate Blanchett and now, Gaga, all dabbling in the pattern.

Gaga’s mini featured a boat-shape neckline and a coquette bow detail that tied around the waist. The singer and actress paired her dress with sheer black tights and pointed-toe Gianvito Rossi heels. Her hair is back to its signature bleach blonde and was worn in a half-up, half-down style. Gaga also flashed some impressive jewelry, mainly her blinding diamond engagement ring.

Polanksy, for his part, sported a low-key outfit that consisted of a black shirt, pants, and sneakers. The couple hard-launched their engagement at the Paris Olympics in July when Gaga introduced Polansky, an entrepreneur and tech investor, to the French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal as “my fiancé.” Time will tell if Polanksy will join Gaga on the Venice red carpet.

Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux, in which she stars as Harley Quinn opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s titular clown, will have its grand premiere tomorrow evening in Venice. The debut is one of the more buzzy releases of the festival, with Gaga and Phoenix both staking their hopes into the project heading into awards season. Phoenix won the Best Actor crown in 2020 for his role in the original Joker while Gaga took home Best Original Song for “Shallow” in 2018. She was also nominated that same year in the Best Actress category for A Star Is Born but lost to Olivia Colman.

The most recent trailer for the Todd Phillips blockbuster finds Gaga’s character becoming fascinated by the Joker, saying “For once in my life, I didn’t feel so alone anymore.”

“There's music, there's dance, it's a drama, it's also a courtroom drama, it's a comedy, it's happy, it's sad,” Gaga said of Joker: Folie à Deux in August. She added, “It's a testament to [Philips] as a director, that he would rather be creative than just tell a traditional story of love.”