Style Icon Lady Gaga: Facts from the Life of the Designer from Manhattan

Lady Gaga is the stage name of the globally renowned Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, who was born on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan. She is known worldwide as an American actress, singer, and songwriter, famous for her musical versatility and reimagining of iconic images. Lady Gaga began showcasing her creativity as a teenager, performing from a young age by singing at the open microphone nights and participating in school plays. More at manhattanka.

In the 2000s, a major breakthrough occurred for this international personality: her debut studio album “The Fame” was released, featuring the hit singles “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”, both of which topped the music charts. Later, in 2009, the album was reissued as an expanded version called “The Fame Monster”, which included such successful singles as “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and “Alejandro”.

How did Lady Gaga make history?

Lady Gaga made history as the first woman to win an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy Award all in one year. She was awarded for her soundtrack for the movie “A Star is Born” which featured the hit single “Shallow” that topped global charts. The next notable step in her musical career was the release of her sixth studio album, titled “Chromatica”, which included one of Lady Gaga’s most popular tracks, “Rain on Me”.

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With record-breaking sales of 170 million, Lady Gaga is one of the world’s best-selling music artists and the only female artist to have four singles sell at least 10 million copies worldwide. Among her numerous accolades are 13 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, 18 MTV Video Music Awards, and recognition by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. 

In 2010, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was named “Artist of the Year” and in 2015, “Woman of the Year” by Billboard magazine. She also made Forbes’ list and was ranked fourth in VH1’s “100 Greatest Women in Music” in 2012.

Lady Gaga is known for more than just her musical career!

In 2010 and 2019, Time magazine recognized her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and included her in the list of 100 fashion icons of all time and nations. Her advocacy and charitable efforts are focused on promoting mental health awareness and LGBTQ rights. She founded her own non-profit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which supports youth well-being. Gaga is also involved in business with Haus Labs, a vegan cosmetics brand launched in 2019.

Gaga’s music videos are often considered short films due to the constant costume changes and provocative imagery. According to prominent researchers of artist imagery, Lady Gaga’s videos often explore themes of slavery and sadomasochism, as well as promote feminist ideals. For example, the music video for “Telephone” set a Guinness World Record for the most product placements in a video. 

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Lady Gaga’s music videos often explore provocative and heavy themes, such as violence, power, women’s rights (feminism) and more. Her videos are called innovative works of art, and in 2020, Billboard ranked her as the sixth most prominent music video artist of all time. In one of her performances, Gaga appeared as a woman with pale skin and yellow hair, holding her hands crossed and intertwined in the air, wearing a deep-cut bodysuit with clearly defined red fluid.

Rolling Stone magazine named her one of the most prominent contemporary music performers, and Lady Gaga is known for her complex and innovative shows, admitting that she is a perfectionist. Her live performances have been highly praised for their entertainment value, and her iconic performance of the song “Paparazzi” (during which she splattered blood) at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was truly stunning.

A study of Lady Gaga’s work and image

In a Billboard article published by the editorial team in October 2018, Lady Gaga’s music videos were analyzed from “Just Dance” to the debut of “A Star Is Born”. Rebecca Schiller concluded that after the era of art-pop, the icon’s music videos for singles from the “Joanne” album reflect her more restrained approach to music. For example, the music video for the album’s lead single, “Perfect Illusion”, features her performing at a party in the desert wearing only shorts and a T-shirt (thereby changing the typical image of sophisticated attire in music videos to an atypical one). 

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This trend continued in her performances in the film as well as her stage persona. In 2022, Variety critic Chris Willman conducted a study and noted that Lady Gaga could have emphasized her authenticity after the release of “Joanne” and “A Star is Born”, but instead, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta chose to perform in a rather peculiar image that balanced more serious inclinations.

Lady Gaga’s influence on modern culture has led to a polarized perception of her music, fashion sense and personality. Sociologist Mathieu Deflem from the University of South Carolina researched her popularity and influence in the course “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame”, in which the author studied the sociological dimensions of her fame. 

Formation of Lady Gaga’s Style Icon Image

Lady Gaga’s unique fashion sense played a significant role in shaping her image. At the beginning of her career, some media outlets compared her fashion choices to those of Christina Aguilera. In 2011, a group of 121 women dressed in costumes similar to Lady Gaga’s iconic look gathered at the Grammy Awards, which led to the entry in the Guinness World Records as the largest gathering of Lady Gaga impersonators.

The term “Lady Gaga” was named the most popular fashion word according to the Global Language Monitor, and her signature style of “no pants” ranked third on the same organization’s list (which studies American trends). Entertainment Weekly, an American weekly magazine, included Manhattan-born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta’s outfits in their “Best Dressed” list at the end of the decade, noting that she brought performance art into mainstream America.

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In 2021, People magazine ranked Gaga first on their list of “Best Dressed Stars,” praising her ability to effortlessly wear high-fashion looks such as a sculptural oracle dress and a black lace corset dress with elegant embellishments, high heels and retro shades.

Lady Gaga was recognized as a fashion icon, included in Time magazine’s list of 100 fashion icons of all time and nations. Her unique style often caught the attention of the media, with outfits made from plastic bubbles, Kermit dolls and even raw meat. For example, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Gaga wore a dress entirely made of raw beef, which earned her recognition as one of the best-dressed people of 2010 according to Vogue magazine and as the fashion statement of the year according to Time magazine.

Lady Gaga’s fans affectionately call her the “Mother Monster,” while she often refers to them as “little monsters” – she even has a tattoo with this phrase. Her influence has even spread to branding of artists from the next generation, such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Justin Bieber. 

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