That Time When Lady Gaga Wore A Dress Made Entirely Out of Raw Meat to the 2010 VMAs
Lady Gaga is more than a pop star; Mother Monster is also a fashion icon. In recent weeks, Gaga’s outfits have been highlighted several times, including a “Barbiecore” ensemble that has the world talking. That is nothing new, though. She’s been making fashion waves for more than a decade. Her 2010 Video Music Awards look remains a topic of discussion 15 years later. Let’s look back at Lady Gaga’s meat dress that had everyone from activists to fashion designers talking.
Lady Gaga’s meat dress at the Video Music Awards is still an iconic moment
Lady Gaga might be impressing with her Barbiecore ‘fits as of late. However, back in 2010, she wore raw meat as a dress. At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, she stepped onstage wearing a gown made entirely from raw beef. The ensemble, made out of flank steaks, not skirt steaks, was designed by Franc Fernandez. Nicola Formichetti, who has been involved in a handful of other controversial looks worn by Gaga, styled the outfit.
In a conversation with Vogue, years later, Gaga explained that the dress was created because she wanted to make a statement about the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She noted that there was a corset that the meat was sewn to, joking that the stylists hadn’t just draped meat over her and crossed their fingers. In previous interviews, she noted that she wanted to remind everyone that we shouldn’t treat people like slabs of meat.
She said wearing the dress was exhilarating. Gaga didn’t stop at just the dress, either. Meat covered Gaga’s shoes, too. She even wore a steak on her head as a hat. While interesting and something that everyone talked about, we imagine the cleanup was far from glamorous.
Lady Gaga has had various other iconic fashion moments
While Lady Gaga’s meat dress created a stir and remains one of the most talked-about looks in the history of the Video Music Awards, it is far from the first time she got bold with fashion. In fact, Gaga is known for using fashion to express herself and her thoughts on world events. She has shown up to events in dresses made out of stuffed animals, inflatable ensembles, and even arrived at the Grammys one year in a translucent egg.
Gaga’s translucent vessel ensemble was an important part of her performance at the Grammy Awards. Gaga performed “Born This Way” by emerging from the vessel. Once out, she wore a nude, latex skirt and tube top, designed by Nicola Formichetti. According to Vanity Fair, in the years since the look, Gaga has corrected everyone on the “vessel,” insisting it was never intended to be an egg. The entire fashion moment was created to symbolize the music artist’s “rebirth.”
While her 2011 ensemble was all about rebirth, Gaga made an entirely different statement in 2009 with a cape made out of plushies. In 2009, Gaga appeared on a German talk show wearing a cape fashioned out of Kermit the Frog plush toys. The look, designed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, was meant to be a statement on consumerism and the spectacle of celebrity status. Gaga told MTV News the fashion choice was about the absurdity and excess of fame.
In 2019, she turned her Met Gala entrance into a performance art piece by wearing a four-layer outfit. As she walked, Gaga stripped down from a massive ball gown to lingerie. The spectacle drew plenty of attention, with style experts debating whether the pop star understood the assignment.
