Ever since Lady Gaga first hit the scene, she's been known for her fashion almost as
much as her chart-topping music, and she's kept people guessing with unique looks that
often border on performance art. From "Poker Face" to "Stupid Love," and everything in
between, these are the jaw-dropping looks of Lady Gaga.
"I wanna give my fans everything that they deserve, and they do not deserve sweat pants
and sneakers."
Lady Gaga is a classically-trained pianist, who incorporated the instrument in her early
performances as an exotic dancer in New York City. Wearing her hair long and natural brown,
Gaga's outfits typically consisted of hot pants and stilettos. She told The Telegraph,
"It was on the New York underground that I found myself."
"This is the piano that she picked out, we couldn't afford it, and we paid it over several
months, and this is the piano."
"I'm very grateful."
"Yeah."
This look followed both Gaga and pal Lady Starlight to Lollapalooza in 2007. Then, in
2012, Gaga released rare pictures from her burlesque days that show her in the look that
was once described by BMI as the quote "lovechild of David Bowie and Jerry Lee Lewis."
The release of Gaga's first studio album, The Fame, in 2008, marked a major shift in
her persona. Gone was the long brunette hair of her dancing days, and in its place, were
blonde wigs so platinum they were almost white. This would continue to be Gaga's signature
hair for this era.
The first music video from The Fame was "Just Dance," in which she debuts her new blonde
hair, but also a Ziggy Stardust-inspired eye. Over her skimpy outfits, the pop star wears
'80s-style, shoulder-padded jackets, as well as a plethora of wild sunglasses so large
they nearly cover her entire face.
But it was the video for "Poker Face" that established Gaga's new role as fashion icon,
with asymmetrical body suits in latex and leather defining her look both in her videos
and public appearances. By the time her first short film for "Paparazzi" was released in
2009, this newly-sculpted, blonde bombshell look with a rock and roll edge immediately
signaled "Gaga".
"I'm my best when I feel good about me. And when I feel comfortable a hundred percent
in my clothes, in my body, and what I'm wearing."
When fame hit Gaga, it arrived fast, catapulting the singer-songwriter into the stardom for
which she always felt she was destined. Her wild stylings during The Fame era had created
a similarly-inspired fan base, who weren't just copying Gaga's fashion, they were helping
her develop it.
"We identify with one another. I see myself in my fans and they see themselves in me."
Because many of these fans felt marginalized in their own lives, they turned to Gaga's
fearless self-expression for their own. This phenomenon quickly inspired the far edgier
looks that came with The Fame Monster, an album that played on notions of outsider status.
In the "Bad Romance" video, Gaga introduces her claw nails and sharper make-up. While
her live performance looks drew from her burlesque roots, it's the "Alejandro" video that echoes
back to Gaga's history on the small stage.
Thanks to the lyrics for the songs "Monster" and "Teeth," the pop star began referring
to herself as Mother Monster, and to her most dedicated fans as Little Monsters. Her evolving
fashion would follow in suit.
For Gaga, as the realities of fame began to seep into her daily life, her style became
more aggressive. She infamously performed a blood-soaked mashup of "Poker Face" and
"Paparazzi" during the 2010 MTV VMAs, and accepted her video of the year Moonman for
"Bad Romance" in an actual meat dress. The carnivorous couture was created from flank
steak, and sewn onto Gaga backstage. Gaga later discussed the meaning of the dress,
telling Ellen,
"If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty
soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a
piece of meat."
Since the dress caused a huge controversy among animal rights activists, Gaga explained
that it was a critique of the military's anti-LGBTQ-plus "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
"The moral and ethical and political implication of that outfit was far beyond what most people
think which is, ew."
Next came what some consider to be the pinnacle of Mother Monster's outsider look with the
release of 2011's Born This Way. As Gaga and her Little Monsters embraced her narrative
that monsters, or, more precisely, people who are different, are beautiful in their
own way, the pop star's outfits blazed the trails and became her edgiest yet.
The short film, "Born This Way," features Gaga embodying several different humanoid
creatures. She has facial prosthetics, nail claws, and, off camera, she was prone to wearing
heel-less platform shoes that seemed to defy gravity. Gaga even appeared at the 2011 Grammy
Awards in a huge plastic egg, only to hatch on stage later. The performance completed
the narrative that Gaga and her Little Monsters are distinctly not from "here." Rather, they
are otherworldly creatures who don't just look different: they are different.
"I know what it is to really give yourself to your fans. And let them control you. Let
them dictate how hard you sweat."
The message certainly resonated with fans. Even Elton John called "Born This Way" the
quote, "new gay anthem," per Entertainment Weekly.
Gaga's meat dress might've been one of the most iconic looks of her Fame Monster era,
but for the Born This Way years, it was the appearance of the singer's drag king alter-ego,
Jo Calderone, who first appears in the music video for "Yoü and I."
In lieu of the Mother Monster as herself, Calderon appeared in person at the 2011 MTV
Movie Awards, wearing his signature white t-shirt, but paired with a black suit jacket
and trousers. Calderon accepted the award for best female video for "Born This Way"
on Gaga's behalf, never once breaking character during his acceptance speech, his performance,
and his interviews. Calderone even went on to do a full photo shoot for the Vogue Japan
men's edition. Jo Calderone was just one character in a long list of examples proving that Gaga's
far more than just a pop star, she's a performance artist who's unafraid to shatter the ceiling.
Just two shows away from wrapping her Born This Way tour, Gaga was forced to cancel after
breaking her hip. This accident, coupled with her fibromyalgia diagnosis, meant that she
was going to have to take a break from the full-on kinetic performance experience that
Little Monsters had come to expect. This hiatus also marked a new, toned-down style, something
that broke from the Mother Monsters looks that defined her until late 2013.
"Real fans probably knew, deep down that there was something going on."
"Paranoia, fear, body pain."
She still often sported her signature blonde wig, in particular on the ARTPOP album cover,
but Gaga was slowly beginning to streamline her style, as well as rocking a fresh face.
While paying tribute to both her shifting looks and the new iteration of herself as
a stylized clown in ARTPOP's "Applause" video, Gaga's appearance for this third album era
is at its peak in her short film video for "G.U.Y."
As Gaga adjusted to her physical limitations concerning her health, she collaborated with
music legend Tony Bennett on Cheek to Cheek, an album of classic duets they eventually
took on the road. While every once in a while Gaga appeared in an outfit reflective of her
past, her Cheek to Cheek era look embodied a classic old-school jazz diva vibe. Sequined
caps and sparkling full-length dresses with plunging necklines became her signature costuming
both on stage with Bennett, as well as in her solo appearances.
"He sings out and he fills the whole theater, then he goes…"
"Haha yeah!"
These stylings included visual tributes to other female crooners, like Barbara Streisand
and Judy Garland, while bringing a small taste of Gaga's unique over-the-top wigs and other
headwear. Long gone were the booty shorts. Vintage turbans, ball gowns, and swanky cocktail
dresses were in. Explaining her about-face fashion turn, Gaga reportedly said at the
time, via U Discover Music,
"It's me rebelling against my own pop music."
After her tour with Tony Bennett, Gaga returned with arguably her most surprising look to
date with the release of 2016's Joanne. Sporting cut-off jean shorts and a sports jersey, Gaga's
first music video from the album, "Perfect Illusion," features zero frills and a driving
electro-pop beat. She also introduces the pink cowgirl hat that would become the signature
look of this Gaga era, which focused more on reaching mainstream middle America. Variations
on the cowgirl hat popped up during her subsequent Joanne tour, some in pastel pink, others bejeweled,
and typically paired with cowboy boots of various colors and lots of fringe.
Having mostly discarded the outrageous fashions that made her a household name, Gaga was invited
to perform the halftime show for Super Bowl 51, in 2017.
"I've been planning this since I was four. So, I know exactly what I'm gonna do."
For the performance, her look paid mild, glittering homage to her entire catalog, even though
it was far more modest than the Gaga of the previous decade would have ever been.
"What are you writing down in here?"
"It's my song book. I had this idea, and I didn't want to forget it."
In 2018, Gaga made her proper Hollywood debut as the young ingenue Ally Maine in Bradley
Cooper's remake of the classic musical drama, A Star Is Born. In many ways, Ally's appearance
in the film is an even more stripped down version of Gaga's Joanne-era look, as the
character initially wears nothing but a touch of foundation, complete with a wardrobe consisting
mainly of t-shirts, jeans, and a cowboy hat.
"I always wanted to define what it meant to be me. And I always had something to say,
and I always made sure that no one stood in my way when I wanted to say it."
Off screen, however, the pop star-turned-actress brought old Hollywood glamour back with a
vengeance throughout the press tour for the film. The key styles for this particular look
were vintage-inspired ball gowns in satin, along with sequins, feathers, and yards of
tulle. Gaga's makeup channeled Elizabeth Taylor's iconic cat eyeliner, as well as shimmering
lip glosses in classic pinks and reds that were dramatic in a completely different way
than her original "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance" looks.
But of course Gaga can pull off old Hollywood style. That's because she can work any look.
The star's official make-up artist, Sarah Tanno, revealed to Vogue,
"I think Gaga is a total chameleon. Everything and anything could suit her."
When Gaga got her first tattoo at just 17 years old, her father was furious and made
her promise to only get tattoos on her left side, so she would still be quote "slightly
normal" on the other side, according to Rolling Stone. One particular tattoo, a treble clef
on her lower back, was later covered up with a flowery rose and vine after the original
upset her parents. In 2009, she got a quote from Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet on the
inside of her left arm. However, breaking her promise, Gaga then got her first tattoo
on her right side, a trumpet drawn by Tony Bennett, just before they released Cheek To
Cheek.
"The symbol of our unity, the symbol of our love of our community and everything we stand
for."
Adding to her collection are tributes to her Little Monsters: two words underneath her
Rilke tattoo feature the lettering "Mother Monster," plus a monster claw on her left
shoulder blade. In addition to a heart on her shoulder in tribute to her dad and the
date "12/18/74" in remembrance of her deceased Aunt Joanne, Gaga has David Bowie's face tattooed
on her rib cage, as well as a tribute tattoo for every project on which she's worked.
"I get to do my, you know, pop rock, interesting, performance art show."
In December 2019, Gaga began a two-part residency in Las Vegas called Enigma, marking the culmination
of not just her musical career to date, but also a tribute to virtually every single look
she's sported since The Fame. Her show has since been lauded for many aspects of its
production, but Billboard made a point of mentioning the Mother Monster's various looks,
specifically noting,
"With her longtime fashion collaborator Nicola Formichetti and her sister Natali Germanotta
joining forces, the duo spawned a number of creative looks, ranging from fluorescent and
leather to a bodysuit with flashing LED lights…for Gaga, the dancers and her band that would
have made David Bowie proud."
Gaga considers Bowie to be the kind of artist who quote "changes you forever," as she told
NPR, so it's no wonder she would want to pay homage to the late musician. From the Bowie-inspired
lightning bolt of The Fame era and the leather and lace from Born This Way to her performance
of the Oscar-winning tune "Shallow" as her A Star Is Born character Ally Maine, Gaga's
costume changes during Enigma also spoke to her own myriad contributions, not just to
pop culture, but also to cutting edge fashion.
Gaga's arc as a singer, songwriter, dancer, and performance artist has been huge, and
her fans wondered what she would do after she'd basically done it all. But she finally
answered the question when she returned to her pure pop roots with 2020's "Stupid Love."
In the music video for the single off her album Chromatica, Gaga personifies bubble-gum
pop music with all-pink ensembles that call back to her Fame Monster and Born This Way
looks, featuring extraterrestrial and outer space imagery as well as the tiny spandex
outfits that once defined her brand.
Gaga's pink ponytail and sparkling facial adornments are reminiscent of her earlier
days, and she appeared to be having a blast while filming as she pranced around the desert,
showing off the bright and quirky fashion elements we once expected from her on the
regular. But unlike the past, Gaga sports a pair of walkable metallic magenta boots
in the video instead of gravity-defying high heels. The irony is, that now that she's charting
a new interstellar pop narrative, her feet are firmly on the ground.
"I mean, I love my clothes, I put them on. But you're not gonna tell me when to wear
them."
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