Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball fashion mirrors the stages of grief and healing: See all of the looks from opening night.
The queen of all queens is back. Lady Gaga kicked off her much anticipated Chromatica Ball in Düsseldorf on Sunday night, in a performance collating theatre, fashion, technology and poetry, drawing upon the act of transforming personal darkness and grief into healing. “The stage was inspired by brutalist architecture, crudity, and darkness - a real hard look at yourself and what you have been through in life.” said Gaga live on Instagram before the show.
Alongside a full vulnerable glimpse into her healing, fashion being Gaga’s most beloved tool of expression, further highlighted an extension of her mind and the racing thoughts within. Working with Nick Knight on the interludes for the four-act show, the pop icon worked on the opening looks with mostly British designers and houses in the face of Gareth Pugh, Bradley Sharpe, Alexander McQueen, as well as her sister Natali Germanotta, to deliver references from her past eras, alongside the dark and emotional self-reflection. Signature Gaga leather, with studs and chains, distressed latex dripping in blood, and archive Lacroix Haute Couture were the elements that brought the story to life in physical form during the two-hour spectacle.
Bradley Sharpe, whose SS23 distressed PU-coated look is featured in the opening interlude of the show, expressed: “Her tour takes you through different stages of grief so it was important to provide something that was confronting. Generally what we wanted to create was something that felt raw and timely towards what women in America are going through with abortion rights. You can just for a very split second see a glimpse of our bucket bonnet (which is referencing Handmaid’s Tale). We developed this almost a year ago for SS23, and coincidentally back then, the inspiration behind the bonnet was how men perceived women at the time of the 18th century through a satirical lens.”
Perfect has collated the standout looks from Gaga’s big opening night for Chromatica Ball in Düsseldorf, creatively directed by Nicola Formichetti in a gallery below:
