Over-the-Top Fashion Lady Gaga Makes a Quick Comeback
Lady Gaga is back, folks. Unlike sexiness, which Justin Timberlake unconvincingly tried to bring back even though it never left, weird fashion Gaga as we know and love her is back on the streets. That is, the kind of Lady Gaga that wears nine-inch Pleaser fetish heels to run errands and an actual wedding gown during a heatwave. Her theatrical looks are a blessing on the timeline, a signal that (sorry, I have to say it!) nature is healing, and that cosmos are realigning into something approaching normalcy. Lady Gaga wears strange things, and we adore her for it.
After a stint wearing rather traditional (by Gaga’s standards, anyway) formal dresses out and about, Mother Monster was spotted dashing about in the aforementioned shoes for the second time this week. She paired it with a black knit mini dress with dramatic fluffy sleeves, a small handbag, and the angular Gentle Monster sunglasses that she’s been adoring as of later. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Gaga taking the reigns of fashion back from the Covid-19 abyss.
We haven’t seen much of Ms. Germanotta’s more over-the-top side over the past 15 months. The biggest reason for that is, of course, the pandemic — everything was closed, everyone was wearing sweatpants, and in the face of so much collective trauma, fashion seemed like a luxury that none of us could financially or emotionally afford. But I’d like to think that we’re more conscientious now; we’ve realized that fashion isn’t a frivolous escapist fantasy, it’s a necessary part of how we relate to each other as human beings. There’s so much cultural coding in the way we dress, it’s a form of nonverbal communication that tells the world about our values and identities; having that communication effectively muted for the past 1.5 years has only made us realize how much we need it. And dammit, Gaga is here to amplify that message with pink strawberries. Get dressed, express yourself, live your campiest fashion life.
Gaga has also been busy working on House of Gucci. In the movie, she portrays Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of titular patriarch Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), and folks, if you’re not familiar with their story, buckle up when the film drops. I urge you to resist googling the story to see how it ends, because it is so wild and outrageous that you’ll want to be surprised in the theater. Gaga spent several weeks filming the movie, offering us the most public style visibility since the pandemic began, but given that she isn’t playing any shows or promoting any new music, she hasn’t needed to don any signature Looks with a capital L.
The last serious look that she served was in January at President Biden’s inauguration. As is traditional, a notable voice performs the national anthem; she joined a long list of talent that sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” at inaugurations, including Beyoncé, Marilyn Horne, and Ethel Ennis. It’s a famously difficult song to sing, but Gaga made it sound effortless even as she wore a dramatic Schiaparelli gown. The drop-waist skirt fanned out into a red curtain, while a giant gold bird brooch was pinned to the bodice. Her look was equal parts ceremonial, as per the event, but with a unique Gaga spin that we all love to see. Let us hope that the waning pandemic brings us more off-the-wall Gaga looks served up on fetish shoe platter.
