The Changing Looks Of Lady Gaga

Ever since Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, first hit the entertainment scene, she's been known for her outfits almost as much as her chart-topping music. The singer-actress' public appearances have always kept people guessing about what fashion boundary she would push next with unique styles that have often bordered on performance art. 

Lady Gaga has never been afraid to take risks or cause a stir with her appearance, be this her hair, makeup, clothing, wild manicures, or even gravity-defying shoes. Modeled after Andy Warhol's creative hive The Factory, the Haus of Gaga is the musician's corresponding hub, where philosophers, artists, and designers not only come up with Gaga's fashion statements, but also the levels of meaning behind each one as they pertain to art history, pop culture, and social justice messaging. 

More often than not, Lady Gaga's latest looks will first appear in one of her music videos, before she takes it for a walk on a real-life street — another detail that's set her iconic style apart from others. So, let's put on our poker faces and explore the changing looks of Lady Gaga over the years.

The release of Lady Gaga's first studio album, The Fame, in 2008 marked a major shift in how she presented herself. Gone was the long brunette hair of her burlesque days, and in 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 not just the new blonde hair, but also a David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust-inspired blue lightning bolt painted over one 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 music video for "Poker Face" that established Gaga's new role as fashion icon. A deconstructed disco ball adorns her face, while asymmetrical body suits in latex and leather define her look both in her videos and public appearances. By the time her first short film — the "Paparazzi" music video — was released in 2009, this newly-sculpted, blonde bombshell look with a rock and roll edge was immediately associated with Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga was always on the trajectory to be an ultra-famous star, but as the realities of fame — and the pressures of being a role model to many marginalized listeners — began to seep into her daily life, her fashion sense became more aggressive. She infamously performed a blood-soaked mashup of "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi" during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, and accepted her video of the year Moonman for "Bad Romance" in an actual meat dress. The asymmetrical outfit, styled by longtime collaborator Nicola Formichetti and created from flank steaks from designer Ferdinand Franc's own family butcher, was sewn onto Gaga backstage.

Gaga later discussed the meaning of the dress on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saying (via MTV News): "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 vegans and vegetarians, Gaga explained that it was a critique of the military's anti-LGBTQ+ "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Lady 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-songwriter's drag king alter-ego, Jo Calderone. Calderone first appears as one of Gaga's love interests in the "Yoü and I" music video. He has short black hair slicked in a '50s greaser style, culminating in a curl on his forehead, and wears a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up and baggy blue jeans. 

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 Vogue Japan Hommes. 

Jo Calderone was just one in a long line of examples that Gaga's far more than just a pop star — she's a performance artist who's unafraid to shatter boundaries and labels.

As Lady Gaga adjusted to her physical limitations after breaking her hip and fibromyalgia diagnosis, 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 a sheer outfit and pasties over her visible breasts in a nod to her burlesque beginnings, 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 and in her solo public appearances. 

These stylings included visual tributes to other female crooners, like Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, while bringing a small taste of Gaga's unique over-the-top wigs and other headwear. Gone were the booty shorts, sequined bras, and edgy prosthetics, and in were the vintage turbans, ball gowns, and swanky cocktail dresses that would feel right at home in a Marilyn Monroe movie. Explaining her about-face fashion turn, Gaga reportedly said around the time the album dropped (via U Discover Music), "It's me rebelling against my own pop music."

In 2018, Lady 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 small hint of foundation on her face, complete with a wardrobe consisting mainly of t-shirts, jeans, and a cowboy hat. 

Off screen, however, the pop star-turned-actress brought old Hollywood glamour back with a vengeance throughout the press tour for A Star Is Born. The key words for this particular look were vintage-inspired ballgowns in satin and with sequins 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.

Of course, Gaga can pull off old Hollywood style, right? That's because she can work any look. "I think Gaga is a totally chameleon," the star's official make-up artist, Sarah Tanno, revealed to Vogue. "Everything and anything could suit her."

In December 2019, Lady 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 pop 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 florescent and leather to a body suit with flashing LED lights and a nude-colored unitard — for Gaga, the dancers and her band that would have made David Bowie proud." 

Gaga considers Bowie to be the kind of artist who "changes you forever," she told NPR, so it's no wonder she would want to pay homage to the late musician in this way. 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 fashion as a whole.