Lady Gaga's Stage Costumes: From Armani to Versace

By Angela Cole

Aside from her famous creativity in pop music, we all know Lady Gaga for her remarkable theatrics and wild fashion sense; her Born This Way Ball Tour being an obvious example of these characteristics.

In April of this year, Giorgio Armani was announced as the artist’s costume designer for her tour. He stated that:

"Collaborating with Lady Gaga is always an exciting experience for me. I admire the way she uses fashion as a scenic element and as a means to build a character."

Sketch for Lady Gaga costume by Armani

The designer created diverse stage outfits for the performer, including a long-sleeved, floor-length shift dress, as well as a black and white hat shaped like a keyboard. The Armani team used PVC, metal studs, and jet-black Swarovski crystals to create the outfits.

Sketch for Lady Gaga costume by Armani

 

But, watch out Armani! Lady Gaga is spreading her own rumors, and if proved to be true, Versace will be designing the tour’s costumes for America.

On November 13, 2012 at 3:17am, the singer tweeted:

"THE BORN THIS WAY BALL is getting a face-lift for America. I heard rumors @VERSACE IS CUSTOM DESIGNING ALL THE CLOTHES AND NEW LOOKS."

Lady Gaga’s passion for Versace clothes is no secret to anyone. She recently made headlines wearing THE safety-pin dress which was originally made famous by Elizabeth Hurley in 1994.

Lady Gaga (2012) vs. Elizabeth Hurley (1994)
Versace's safety-pin dress

The singer has also become pals with Donatella Versace, the brand’s chief designer. This past September, during Paris Fashion Week, the two posed for photographer Terry Richardson – Gaga topless.

Donatella Versace and Lady Gaga - Paris Fashion Week 2012
Photo by Terry Richardson

Versace’s costume designs for Lady Gaga will surely be translated into stylish, bold and risqué pieces that the brand has always been recognized for.

A Different Kind of Grammy's

Fashion students not only tuned in to the 54th Grammy Awards this year to see the numerous performances, but also to see who stole the spotlight on the red carpet. Not We not only watched Nicki Minaj being accompanied by a man dressed as the Pope, we also witnessed how celebrities reacted to the sudden passing of a superstar, Whitney Houston. Whitney was never the “fashion icon” you would look upon for fashion sense, but she was the epidamy of a superstar in every way, especially for the Grammy’s. Even with the death of the superstar, many fashion guru’s like ourselves were also watching for the fashion scene stealers and best dressed celebrities of the evening. Here are the top two best dressed and worst dressed celebrities I felt helped bring “positive buzz” to an already sad evening.

BEST DRESSED

Adele: Dressed in a custom Armani Prive floor-length gown with De Beers accessories, the singer “stole the night” in a gown that showed off her figure perfectly, winning six shinny Grammy’s including Record of the Year. To the haters who comment on her figure, as Adele has said “I write music for the ears, not eyes".

Rihanna: Giorgio Armani got all the press Sunday night, since Rihanna wowed in a custom gown by the legendary designer, including Christian Louboutin shoes and Neil Lane jewelry. Though some critics will say her “friends” are hanging out, who else could pull off a dress with slits everywhere, she took a simple black dress and made it "va va voom"

WORST DRESSED

Anne V: Don’t get me wrong, I think Adam Levine is a stud off and on the music charts, but his girlfriend Anne V. looked like she was trying to pull of a sexy slit dress that ended up looking like she was wearing half of a bathing suit bottom. Just because you you have a great body, doesn't mean you have to show your um, thigh?

Nicki Minaj: Personal opinion here, but I did not understand her choice of a head-to-toe Red Riding Hood-esque cape, with a crystallized Versace logo she wore with a Pope at her side. As the stylist.com perfectly stated, “Madonna pissed off the Vatican 25 years ago”. Not sure if she was trying to grab the attention, but a little unnecessary for the circumstances of the night.

What do you all think? Another celebrity that should be on a pedestal or the chopping block?

Ciao,

Julia Mickus