Meat dress of Lady Gaga

Dress made of raw beef worn by Lady Gaga

Meat dress of Lady Gaga

Gaga wearing the meat dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards

Designer| Franc Fernandez
Year| 2010
Material| Raw flank steak

On September 12, 2010, American singer Lady Gaga wore a dress to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards made entirely out of raw beef.[1][2][3] Designed by Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti, the dress was condemned by animal rights groups, while named by Time as the top fashion statement of 2010.

The press speculated on the originality of the 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. Following this, the dress was then transferred to the Newseum in Washington D.C. As of 2019, the dress is displayed in Las Vegas at the Haus of Gaga museum inside the Park MGM casino.[4]

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 United States military's don't ask, don't tell policy.

## Background

[edit]

Gaga was the most nominated artist at 2010's Video Music Awards with a record thirteen nominations, including two nods for Video of the Year (the first female artist to achieve this feat).[5] She arrived in an Alexander McQueen dress and armadillo shoes and changed into a Giorgio Armani number before donning her third and final outfit of the evening: a dress, hat, boots, and purse made of raw meat.[6] Gaga wore the meat dress to accept her Video of the Year trophy for "Bad Romance"; as she accepted the award from presenter Cher, she joked, "I never thought I'd be asking Cher to hold my meat purse."[7] Gaga continued to wear the dress after the awards show for press photos and an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[1] Gaga explained her interpretation of the dress to DeGeneres, stating, "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 bones."[8] DeGeneres, who was vegan at the time, later wrote, "Now, I love Lady Gaga, but as someone who also loves animals it was really difficult for me to sit next to Lady Gaga while she was wearing that outfit, but it did make me ask myself, 'What's the difference between her outfit and an outfit made of leather?'"[8]

## Design

[edit]

Gaga wearing a faux-meat dress during the Born This Way Ball tour, circa 2012

Fernandez was approached by fellow designer and stylist Formichetti to produce the dress, with it planned out over the course of a week,[1] Formichetti having styled the look.[9] The dress was asymmetrical, with a cowled neck.[10] Fernandez specifically chose cuts to ensure that the dress kept well.[1] Flank steak was chosen as the material to use,[3] with the meat coming from his family butcher.[9] The dress required Gaga to be stitched into the outfit backstage.[11]

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."[3]

Fernandez reporting Gaga's opinion in an interview said that Gaga herself said it smelled good, because it smelled like meat.[1] 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".[1] He later explained that the dress would be preserved and made into a type of jerky before being archived.[12]

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, 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.[13]

Preceding Fernandez's creation, Gaga had worn a bikini made of meat on the front cover of the Japanese edition of Vogue.[14] She later wore a faux-meat dress while performing the songs "Americano" and "Poker Face" during her Born This Way Ball concert tour (2012–2013).[15]

## Reception

[edit]

Following the VMAs, media outlets attempted to analyse the meaning of the dress with suggestions by BBC News ranging from anti-fashion, to feminism, aging and decay, and society's attitude towards 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."[16] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (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."[17][18] 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."[19]

Some media sources proposed that the dress could be interpreted as anti-vegan.[20] 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",[21] 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.[21] 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."[17] 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.[22]

### Originality

[edit]

Another controversy surrounding the dress was the question of its originality. Meat dresses have featured in art and music for decades prior to Lady Gaga's version. 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,[23] while The Daily Telegraph compared the dress to the original cover of The Beatles' 1966 album Yesterday and Today.[19][24]

An example of a garment made from meat stitched together in the same way as the Lady Gaga meat dress was worn at the Slade School of Art postgraduate degree exhibition opening in London, England, in July 1979, when performance artist Robert Connolly wore a two-piece suit made of slices of salami.[25]

The Daily Telegraph noted the similarity of Lady Gaga's meat dress to the cover of The Undertones' 1984 album All Wrapped Up, which showed a female model wearing a dress and gloves made of cuts of meat (mostly bacon) held in place with plastic wrap and accessorized with a sausage necklace.[19] Some in the art and fashion press remarked on the dress's 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.[26][27][28] Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro had also designed a meat dress for use in a beauty pageant in 2006.[2]

Brooks Barnes of The New York Times claimed that Lady Gaga's dress was "derived" from Incarnation, a 2009 painting of a white-haired girl wearing a meat dress by artist Mark Ryden.[29][30][31] Sharon Clott of MTV also noted the similarity between Lady Gaga's dress and Ryden's painting.[31] Ryden was reportedly upset that Gaga did not acknowledge that she allegedly took inspiration from his work.[30]

## Legacy

[edit]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where the meat dress went on display in 2011

Although it was Gaga's third costume change at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, the meat dress was immediately described as the "most outrageous fashion moment" of the evening.[9] 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.[32] In summing up 2010 through a series of lists, Time voted the meat dress as its top fashion statement of 2010.[33][34]

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".[11] He had previously created items for Gaga, including a costume for her music video for "Bad Romance".[35] He went on to create a hat that Gaga wore to the 53rd Grammy Awards in February 2011.[11]

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".[36] Starting from 2019, the dress is presented to the public in Las Vegas at the Haus of Gaga museum inside the Park MGM casino, coinciding with Gaga's residency in the building.[37]

The video game Yakuza 5, originally released in 2012, satirizes Gaga's meat dress and her love of Japanese culture through a sidequest where you play the role of tour guide to a world-famous global superstar singer known as "Daddy Papa", self-described as an anti-conformist lending a voice to the voiceless, who wears a dress made of seaweed that your player character describes as a "dumpster ensemble" that "smells like the ocean".

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.[38] Die Antwoord's 2012 music video for "Fatty Boom Boom" also parodied her dress. In the video, a Gaga look alike in a meat dress is eaten by a lion on the street of Johannesburg.[39]

## See also

[edit]

* List of individual dresses

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Vena, Jocelyn (September 16, 2010). "Lady Gaga Meat Dress Designer Tells How To Re-Create His VMA Look". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
2. ^ a b "Music Piracy: Lady Gaga Is To Blame". Lovelyish.com. July 9, 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
3. ^ a b c Padilla, Max (September 24, 2010). "Lady Gaga Meat Dress Designer's Lips Are Zipped About Animal Rights". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 9, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
4. ^ Bobb, Brooke (May 30, 2019). "Lady Gaga's Private Fashion Archive Is Going on Display in Las Vegas—Infamous Dried Meat Dress Included". Vogue. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
5. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (August 3, 2010). "Lady Gaga, Eminem Top VMA Nominations". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
6. ^ Bueno, Antoinette (September 13, 2018). "Lady Gaga reveals what she thinks is her 'No. 1 Look' ever -- and it's very iconic". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
7. ^ Ganz, Caryn (September 12, 2010). "Meet the Mystery Meat Dress: Lady Gaga Explains Rare VMAs Outfit". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
8. ^ a b "So about Lady Gaga's meat dress..." CNN.com Blogs. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
9. ^ a b c Clott, Sharon (September 13, 2010). "Was Lady Gaga's VMA Meat Dress Real?". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
10. ^ Topping, Alexandra (September 13, 2010). "Lady Gaga's meat dress angers animal rights groups". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
11. ^ a b c Vazquez, Anna (March 9, 2010). "Lady Gaga Meat Dress Designer Franc Fernandez Q&A". Stylelist. AOL. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
12. ^ Gornstein, Leslie (September 22, 2010). "Did anyone ever eat Lady Gaga's meat dress?". E!. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
13. ^ Pool, Bob (July 22, 2011). "Taxidermist preserves Lady Gaga's meat dress for posterity". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
14. ^ Cristina Everett (September 7, 2010). "In the flesh: Lady Gaga dons raw meat on cover of Vogue Hommes Japan". New York Daily News.
15. ^ Dumaual, Miguel (May 23, 2012). "Review: Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way Ball'". ABS-CBN. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
16. ^ Winterman, Denise; Kelly, Jon (September 14, 2010). "Five interpretations of Lady Gaga's meat dress". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
17. ^ a b Roberts, Laura (September 14, 2010). "Lady Gaga's meat dress divides opinion". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
18. ^ Newkirk, Ingrid E. (September 13, 2010). "Lady Gaga's Meat Dress". PETA. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
19. ^ a b c Bloxham, Andy (September 15, 2010). "Lady Gaga's meat dress link to the Beatles". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
20. ^ Walker, Alissa (September 13, 2010). "Is Lady Gaga's Meat Couture an Anti-Vegan Statement?". Good. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
21. ^ a b Deacon, Michael (June 17, 2011). "Morrissey on... Lady Gaga and modern pop". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
22. ^ Kaufman, Gil (September 13, 2010). "Lady Gaga Talks VMA Meat Suit With Ellen DeGeneres". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
23. ^ Rosenberg, Karen (May 12, 2011). "Two Meaty Visions of Flesh and Blood". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
24. ^ Heard, Chris (November 15, 2013). "Dressed to grill: From The Undertones to Lady Gaga". BBC News. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
25. ^ "Letters: Salami style". The Guardian. September 20, 2010. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
26. ^ Knight, Christopher (September 13, 2010). "Lady Gaga, meat Jana Sterbak". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
27. ^ Gayford, Martin (September 17, 2010). "Lady Gaga's Fleshy Outfit Echoes Artistic Lobsters, Maggots". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
28. ^ Seashore, Ashley (September 13, 2010). "Lady Gaga's Meat Dress and the Question of Authenticity". TheGloss. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
29. ^ "Incarnation". Retrieved April 20, 2022.
30. ^ a b Barnes, Brooks (May 16, 2014). "Mark Ryden: Drawing a Dividing Line". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
31. ^ a b Clott, Sharon (September 13, 2010). "Does Lady Gaga's Meat Dress Remind You Of Mark Ryden's Paintings?". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
32. ^ Lee, Ann (December 16, 2010). "Lady Gaga's meat dress 'most iconic' of 2010". Metro. London. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
33. ^ "The Top 10 Everything of 2010". Time. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
34. ^ "Lady Gaga's meat dress 'No. 1' fashion statement of 2010". The Independent. London. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
35. ^ Franc Fernandez
36. ^ Mapes, Jill (May 13, 2011). "Women Who Rock' Exhibit Opens, Features Lady Gaga's Meat Dress". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 11, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
37. ^ Bobb, Brooke (May 30, 2019). "Lady Gaga's Private Fashion Archive Is Going on Display in Las Vegas—Infamous Dried Meat Dress Included". Vogue. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
38. ^ "Weird Al Yankovic lampoons Lady Gaga in 'Perform This Way'". CBS News. June 21, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
39. ^ Conway-Smith, Erin (October 18, 2012). "'Lady Gaga' eaten by lion in new Die Antwoord video". The World. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

## Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lady Gaga's meat dress.

* Smith, Heather (March 2011). "Behind the Meat Dress: There are people sewing the meat dress". Meatpaper (14). Archived from the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2016.

* v
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Lady Gaga

* Awards and nominations
* Discography
* Live performances
* Songs
* Videography

Studio albums|

* The Fame
* The Fame Monster
* Born This Way
* Artpop
* Cheek to Cheek
* Joanne
* Chromatica
* Love for Sale

Soundtracks|

* A Star Is Born
* Top Gun: Maverick

Compilation albums|

* The Remix
* Born This Way: The Remix
* Born This Way: The Collection
* Dawn of Chromatica

Extended plays|

* The Cherrytree Sessions
* Hitmixes
* A Very Gaga Holiday

Concert tours|

* The Fame Ball Tour
* Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (cancelled)
* The Monster Ball Tour
* Born This Way Ball
* ArtRave: The Artpop Ball
* Cheek to Cheek Tour
* Joanne World Tour
* The Chromatica Ball

Promotional events|

* ArtRave
* Dive Bar Tour

Residencies|

* Lady Gaga Live at Roseland Ballroom
* Lady Gaga Enigma + Jazz & Piano

Documentaries|

* Gaga: Five Foot Two

Television|

* Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden
* A Very Gaga Thanksgiving
* Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular
* Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!
* Super Bowl LI halftime show
* One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
* Gaga Chromatica Ball

Bibliography|

* Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson

Fragrances and cosmetics|

* Lady Gaga Fame
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Fashion|

* Armadillo shoe
* Meat dress of Lady Gaga

Related articles|

* Cynthia Germanotta (mother)
* Born This Way Foundation
* Doll Domination Tour
* Lady Gaga: Queen of Pop
* One World: Together at Home
* "Perform This Way"
* Theatricality
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* Category

* v
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Notable red carpet outfits

1950s|

* White floral Givenchy dress (Audrey Hepburn, 1954)

1990s|

* Red Versace dress (Cindy Crawford, 1991)
* Black Versace dress (Elizabeth Hurley, 1994)
* Lavender Prada dress (Uma Thurman, 1995)
* American Express Gold card dress (Lizzy Gardiner, 1995)
* Chartreuse Dior dress (Nicole Kidman, 1997)
* Pink Ralph Lauren dress (Gwyneth Paltrow, 1999)

2000s|

| Early|

* Green Versace dress (Jennifer Lopez, 2000)
* Crimson Alberta Ferretti dress (Uma Thurman, 2000)
* Black and white Valentino dress (Julia Roberts, 2001)
* Swan dress (Björk, 2001)
* Elie Saab net dress (Halle Berry, 2002)
* Red Ben de Lisi dress (Kate Winslet, 2002)
* Red Tarvydas dress (Rebecca Twigley, 2004)
* White Marc Bouwer dress (Angelina Jolie, 2004)

|

Late|

* Navy blue Guy Laroche dress (Hilary Swank, 2005)
* Yellow Valentino dress (Cate Blanchett, 2005)
* Plum Vera Wang dress (Keira Knightley, 2006)
* Saffron Vera Wang dress (Michelle Williams, 2006)
* Pink feathered Versace dress (Penélope Cruz, 2007)
* Swarovski crystal mesh Armani dress (Cate Blanchett, 2007)
* Ivory Jean Paul Gaultier dress (Marion Cotillard, 2008)

2010s|

* Meat dress (Lady Gaga, 2010)
* Black Versace dress (Angelina Jolie, 2012)
* Blue Prada dress (Lupita Nyong'o, 2014)
* Black Christian Siriano tuxedo gown (Billy Porter, 2019)

2020s|

* Autograph suit (Sandy Powell, 2020)

* Other notable dresses
* Category

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