Meat dress of Lady Gaga
Encyclopedia
American pop
singer Lady Gaga
wore a dress made of raw beef, which was commonly referred to by the media as the meat dress, to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
. Designed by Franc Fernandez
and styled by Nicola Formichetti
, the dress was condemned by animal rights groups and named by Time
as the top fashion statement of 2010. The press speculated on the originality of the meat dress idea, with comparisons made to similar images found in contemporary art and popular culture. As with her other dresses, it was archived, but went on display in 2011 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
after being preserved by taxidermists as a type of jerky
. Gaga explained following the awards ceremony that the dress was a statement about one's need to fight for what one believes in, and highlighted her distaste for the US military's don't ask don't tell policy.
was chosen as the material to use, with the meat coming from his family butcher
. The dress required Gaga to be stitched into the outfit backstage.
Fernandez said of his design, "I knew the dress would be one of other amazing pieces Gaga wore that night. It's very well made and looked great on her, on and off camera. We didn't get a chance to have a fitting. The only time she had it on was for the VMAs. Only when I saw it in the monitor did I know it would be big."
Fernandez reporting Gaga's opinion in an interview said that Gaga herself said it smelled good, because it smelled like meat. The designer talked of what was to happen to the dress after the awards show, "The dress will be put in an archive with all of her dresses. The Gaga Archives, I suppose. It won't last, that's the beauty of it. When it is brought out again, hopefully it will be in a retrospective, and it will be a different dress, which is the best thing. I like the idea of it changing and evolving into something else". He later explained that the dress would be preserved and made into a type of jerky
before being archived.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
paid $6,000 to taxidermist Sergio Vigilato to preserve the dress. It had been frozen following the two television appearances, although Vigilato discovered signs of decomposition on the dress which had occurred prior to it being frozen, and noted it was emitting an odor once it was defrosted. It was treated with bleach, formaldehyde
and detergent to kill any bacteria which had formed, and was reconditioned by being dyed dark red once it was preserved so to give it the same appearance as when first worn. However, after the preservation there were several pieces of beef left over and not included in the reworked dress.
Previously, Gaga had worn a bikini made of meat on the front cover of the Japanese edition of Vogue
. It was originally worn by Gaga at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
to accept her award for Video of the Year
. Although it was Gaga's third costume change of the evening, the meat dress was immediately described as "most outrageous fashion moment" of the evening. Gaga wore the dress for additional press photos and once more on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
.
Fernandez credits the dress with an upturn in his career, saying, "I feel like I have a voice now as an artist and as a designer". He had previously created items for Gaga, including a costume for the Bad Romance
music video for which she won the MTV Music Video Award, and went on to create a hat that she wore to the 53rd Grammy Awards
in February 2011.
During halloween
in 2010, re-creations of the meat dress were popular in New York
, and in 2011, a group of students from the University of Cumbria
made a recreation of the dress with the help of local butchers. The dress went on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011 as part of an exhibition entitled "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power".
A poll by website MyCelebrityFashion.co.uk placed the dress as the most iconic outfit of 2010, beating Catherine Middleton's engagement dress
into second place. In summing up 2010 through a series of lists, Time
voted the meat dress as its top fashion statement of 2010.
When "Weird Al" Yankovic
did a parody of Gaga's "Born This Way
", titled "Perform This Way
", he included a lyrical reference to the meat dress ("I strap prime rib to my feet / Cover myself with raw meat / I'll bet you've never seen a skirt steak worn this way") and had a dancer dressed in a similar outfit in the music video.
ranging from anti-fashion
, to feminism
, aging and decay, and society's attitude to meat. Chef Fergus Henderson
explained this meat attitude as "People often don't want meat to look like meat. They want it to be neatly wrapped in plastic from a supermarket." PETA condemned the dress, releasing a statement that said "wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that more people are upset by butchery than are impressed by it." The Vegetarian Society
also condemned the dress, releasing a statement that said "No matter how beautifully it is presented, flesh from a tortured animal is flesh from a tortured animal. Enough animals die for food and they should not be killed for stunts like this."
Another controversy surrounding the dress was the question of its originality. Many in the art and fashion press remarked on its similarity to Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
, a meat dress made by Canadian sculptor Jana Sterbak
in 1987 exhibited to considerable controversy at the National Gallery of Canada in 1991.
Some media sources proposed that the dress could be interpreted as anti-vegan. Vegetarian singer Morrissey
stated that he felt the dress was acceptable as long as it was a social or political statement, and not just a "loony idea", pointing out that artist Linder Sterling
had previously worn a meat dress in 1982 to protest against what she believed to be the perception of women by men. Ellen DeGeneres
presented Gaga with a bikini
made of vegetables when the singer appeared on her talk show, and the singer used the platform to respond to the controversy surrounding the dress saying, "... it has many interpretations. For me this evening, 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." She explained further that she was also using the dress to highlight her distaste for the US military's "don't ask, don't tell
" policy.
Karen Rosenberg from The New York Times
compared the dress to a series of photographs of Francis Bacon posing with sides of beef attached to his torso like wings in 1952, while The Daily Telegraph
compared the dress to the original cover of The Beatles
1966 album Yesterday and Today
, and noted its similarity to the cover of the November 1983 The Undertones
album All Wrapped Up, which showed a female model wearing cuts of meat (mostly bacon) held in place with plastic wrap, long gloves and a sausage necklace.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
wore a dress made of raw beef, which was commonly referred to by the media as the meat dress, to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
. Designed by Franc Fernandez
Franc Fernandez
Franc Fernandez is a Los Angeles, California-based Argentine artist and fashion designer. His most well-known work is the meat dress of Lady Gaga.-Early life and education:...
and styled by Nicola Formichetti
Nicola Formichetti
Nicola Formichetti is an internationally prolific fashion director and fashion editor of mixed Italian and Japanese heritage. He is most widely known as the new creative director for the French fashion house MUGLER, and for being a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter and performance...
, the dress was condemned by animal rights groups and named by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
as the top fashion statement of 2010. The press speculated on the originality of the meat dress idea, with comparisons made to similar images found in contemporary art and popular culture. As with her other dresses, it was archived, but went on display in 2011 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
after being preserved by taxidermists as a type of jerky
Jerky (food)
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...
. Gaga explained following the awards ceremony that the dress was a statement about one's need to fight for what one believes in, and highlighted her distaste for the US military's don't ask don't tell policy.
Design
Fernandez was approached by fellow designer and stylist Formichetti to produce the dress, with it planned out over the course of a week, Formichettti having styled the look. The dress was asymmetrical, with a cowled–neck. Fernandez specifically chose cuts to ensure that the dress kept well. Flank steakFlank steak
The flank steak, also known as bavette, is a beef steak cut from the abdominal muscles of the cow. A relatively long and flat cut of meat, flank steak is used in a variety of dishes including London broil and fajitas...
was chosen as the material to use, with the meat coming from his family butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
. The dress required Gaga to be stitched into the outfit backstage.
Fernandez said of his design, "I knew the dress would be one of other amazing pieces Gaga wore that night. It's very well made and looked great on her, on and off camera. We didn't get a chance to have a fitting. The only time she had it on was for the VMAs. Only when I saw it in the monitor did I know it would be big."
Fernandez reporting Gaga's opinion in an interview said that Gaga herself said it smelled good, because it smelled like meat. The designer talked of what was to happen to the dress after the awards show, "The dress will be put in an archive with all of her dresses. The Gaga Archives, I suppose. It won't last, that's the beauty of it. When it is brought out again, hopefully it will be in a retrospective, and it will be a different dress, which is the best thing. I like the idea of it changing and evolving into something else". He later explained that the dress would be preserved and made into a type of jerky
Jerky (food)
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...
before being archived.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
paid $6,000 to taxidermist Sergio Vigilato to preserve the dress. It had been frozen following the two television appearances, although Vigilato discovered signs of decomposition on the dress which had occurred prior to it being frozen, and noted it was emitting an odor once it was defrosted. It was treated with bleach, formaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
and detergent to kill any bacteria which had formed, and was reconditioned by being dyed dark red once it was preserved so to give it the same appearance as when first worn. However, after the preservation there were several pieces of beef left over and not included in the reworked dress.
Influence
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. It was originally worn by Gaga at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year...
to accept her award for Video of the Year
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the main award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards. It was first awarded in , when The Cars won it, and has been given out since. Eminem has been the most nominated solo artist, male solo artist, and act in this category, having been...
. Although it was Gaga's third costume change of the evening, the meat dress was immediately described as "most outrageous fashion moment" of the evening. Gaga wore the dress for additional press photos and once more on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
.
Fernandez credits the dress with an upturn in his career, saying, "I feel like I have a voice now as an artist and as a designer". He had previously created items for Gaga, including a costume for the Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
music video for which she won the MTV Music Video Award, and went on to create a hat that she wore to the 53rd Grammy Awards
53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
in February 2011.
During halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
in 2010, re-creations of the meat dress were popular in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and in 2011, a group of students from the University of Cumbria
University of Cumbria
The University of Cumbria is a university in Cumbria, England. Its headquarters are in Carlisle. and other major campuses are at Lancaster, Ambleside and Penrith. It was established in 2007, with roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts established in 1822 and...
made a recreation of the dress with the help of local butchers. The dress went on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2011 as part of an exhibition entitled "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power".
A poll by website MyCelebrityFashion.co.uk placed the dress as the most iconic outfit of 2010, beating Catherine Middleton's engagement dress
Engagement announcement dress of Kate Middleton
During the public announcement of her engagement to Prince William of Wales, on 16 November 2010, Kate Middleton wore a blue Issa dress to coordinate with the sapphire engagement ring given to her by Prince William...
into second place. In summing up 2010 through a series of lists, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
voted the meat dress as its top fashion statement of 2010.
When "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
did a parody of Gaga's "Born This Way
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
", titled "Perform This Way
Perform This Way
"Perform This Way" is a song parody by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. The lyrics are told from the point of view of Gaga and describe her performance style and fashion sense...
", he included a lyrical reference to the meat dress ("I strap prime rib to my feet / Cover myself with raw meat / I'll bet you've never seen a skirt steak worn this way") and had a dancer dressed in a similar outfit in the music video.
Reception
Following the VMAs, media outlets attempted to analyse the meaning of the dress with suggestions by BBC NewsBBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
ranging from anti-fashion
Anti-fashion
Anti-fashion is an umbrella term for various styles of dress which are explicitly contrary to the fashion of the day. Anti-fashion styles may represent an attitude of indifference or may arise from political or practical goals which make fashion a secondary priority...
, to feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, aging and decay, and society's attitude to meat. Chef Fergus Henderson
Fergus Henderson
Fergus Henderson is an English chef who founded the St John restaurant in St John St, London. He is often noted for his use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of Nose To Tail Eating. Following in the footsteps of his parents, Brian and Elizabeth...
explained this meat attitude as "People often don't want meat to look like meat. They want it to be neatly wrapped in plastic from a supermarket." PETA condemned the dress, releasing a statement that said "wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that more people are upset by butchery than are impressed by it." The Vegetarian Society
Vegetarian Society
The Vegetarian Society is a British registered charity established on 30 September 1847 to "support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK."-History:...
also condemned the dress, releasing a statement that said "No matter how beautifully it is presented, flesh from a tortured animal is flesh from a tortured animal. Enough animals die for food and they should not be killed for stunts like this."
Another controversy surrounding the dress was the question of its originality. Many in the art and fashion press remarked on its similarity to Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
"Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic" is an artwork created by Canadian Jana Sterbak, first displayed at Montreal's Galerie Rene Blouin. Its most famous showing was at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, where it attracted national controversy. The work included 50 pounds of raw...
, a meat dress made by Canadian sculptor Jana Sterbak
Jana Sterbak
Jana Sterbak is a Canadian artist best known for her works constructed from meat. Two sculptures, Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic and Chair Apollinaire , were both works whose primary medium was cured flank steak also known as skirt steak in the UK butcher trade.Born in Prague,...
in 1987 exhibited to considerable controversy at the National Gallery of Canada in 1991.
Some media sources proposed that the dress could be interpreted as anti-vegan. Vegetarian singer Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
stated that he felt the dress was acceptable as long as it was a social or political statement, and not just a "loony idea", pointing out that artist Linder Sterling
Linder Sterling
Linder Sterling is a visual artist, performance artist and musician from Liverpool, England. She spent her teen years in Manchester. She also uses the single name "Linder".-Early life:...
had previously worn a meat dress in 1982 to protest against what she believed to be the perception of women by men. Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
presented Gaga with a bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
made of vegetables when the singer appeared on her talk show, and the singer used the platform to respond to the controversy surrounding the dress saying, "... it has many interpretations. For me this evening, 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." She explained further that she was also using the dress to highlight her distaste for the US military's "don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
" policy.
Karen Rosenberg from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
compared the dress to a series of photographs of Francis Bacon posing with sides of beef attached to his torso like wings in 1952, while The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
compared the dress to the original cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
1966 album Yesterday and Today
Yesterday and Today
Yesterday and Today is the ninth Capitol release by The Beatles and the eleventh overall American release. It was issued only in the United States and Canada...
, and noted its similarity to the cover of the November 1983 The Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...
album All Wrapped Up, which showed a female model wearing cuts of meat (mostly bacon) held in place with plastic wrap, long gloves and a sausage necklace.