First was Telegraph and Parade, and now Lady Gaga gave another exclusive interview to GRAZIA, Middle East magazine. In this exclusive chat, Gaga talks with Carrie Buckle about her current artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball tour, Cheek To Cheek, art, fashion and her first time in Dubai.
Owning the stage in a bejeweled bodysuit, with her adoring audience reflected in a Jeff Koons blue Gazing Ball on her chest, Lady Gaga is utterly fearless. This is the opening outfit in her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball global tour and the shiny sphere captures Gaga’s incredible connection with her little monsters, who are also sporting crazy, colourful get-ups. The megastar has continually pushed boundaries, with her outlandish performances and outfits often dividing critics. But what is unique about the 28-year-old is her ability to empower her fans, often through fashion. She encourages them to be original, take creative risks, and practice tolerance and acceptance. Whatever you think of her on and off stage antics, there’s no denying the power of Gaga.
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In just six year, Stefani Germanotta has bravely built her very own Gaga empire, complete with record-breaking albums sales – 27 million at the last count – five Grammy Awards and 43 million Twitter followers. Last year was tough as she split with her longtime manager, Troy Carter, and there was a hip injury, but following quality time with her actor beau Taylor Kinney, 33, and super-cute French bulldog, Asia, she has bounced back, stronger than ever. And just when we thought we’d seen it all she surprises us with another incarnation. The most recent is her collaboration with singing legend, and new bestie, Tony Bennett. Their jazz album, Cheek to Cheek is released on 19 September. “I’m so excited for Cheek to Cheek, I haven’t felt like this in ages. I daydream of the theatres, Tony B, the band. The curtain revealing,” says Gaga, who will star with the 88-year-old Tony in H&M’s holiday campaign. Additionally, there appears to be no stopping Gaga, who is also set to release her second signature fragrance, Eau de Gaga this autumn.
When we catch up with her, she is enjoying a rare moment of calm in-between gigs in Melbourne, on the Australian leg of her artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball tour. “I’ve been so overwhelmed by the amazing fans waiting outside the hotel every day,” she enthuses of her #AussieMonsterAngels. The seven-month tour in 68 countries began in the States in May and has since taken in Canada, Japan, Korea, and now Australia. She has however, missed boyfriend-of-three-years, Taylor Kinney. “Sleepy girl, resting up before Brisbane. In the car with my pillow. Missing T.” She captioned a selfie on Instagram, however she says she is beyond excited about kicking off the next leg of her tour on 10 September in Dubai. She promises her fans the “the show of a lifetime” and what makes it all more major is that it’s her first visit to the region. “I have not been before and I am excited to see my fans in the Middle East,” she tells Grazia. “I know I’m going to love performing for them and seeing all the beautiful, mythical things come true that I have heard of this enigma called Dubai”
Lady G even got the regional lowdown from her friend Karl Lagerfeld, who fell in love with our city years ago, and famously brought his Chanel Cruise show here in May. She told him, “Of course, I must explore the local designers and go shopping!” Did King Karl divulge ay tips for hunting down stylish offerings in Dubai? “I would tell you our shopping secrets, but then I wouldn’t be able to get to the nut before the other squirrels!” laughs Gaga, who spends most of her life jet-setting but keeps an apartment in NYC, complete with Marilyn piano, pink couch, and her treasured Mikimoto pearls.
We’ll have to wait and see what Gaga wears off-stage during her Arabian adventures, but on stage we can sure she will pull out all the sartorial stops. From a clam shell bikini and a winged bodysuit, to latex and sequins-a-plenty, fans can expect an extravagant spectacle. Gaga will perform 24 songs including the hits Born This Way, G.U.Y, and Bad Romance. What was her original vision for her tour? “We were inspired by Op Art, especially those by Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka.” she reveals. “We then became inspired by underground raver street culture, and the works of Marina Abramovic, Robert Wilson and Jeff Koons. This turned into a psychedelic party that we coined the artRAVE.”
The concept of the show is Gaga as Greek goddess Aphrodite, taking the audience to planet Venus, where we can celebrate the creativity inside us all. The dancer’s outfits at the start of the show tap into this theme.
“These were inspired by the rave culture as imaged on the planet Venus,” Gaga says. “It’s a celebration of [Aphrodite's] birth place and I’m essentially being born as I rise up like a phoenix. if you look closely, we’re all wearing epic swimwear inspired by Matthew Barney.” When quizzed about her fave looks from the tour, Gaga loves her “Versace Gypsy” outfit, designed by her pal Donatella. “This makes me feel like a gypsy bride except I am not wedding a man or a woman – I am marrying the journey of my life. The canvas,” says Gaga. “As I continue to travel from place to place, my fans and I splash paint on the canvas of life.”
Working with arguably the world’s most famous living artist, Jeff Koons, was also a dream come true. The duo were first introduced by Miuccia Prada at new york’s Met Ball in 2010 and they fused art and pop when he created a sculpture of Gaga for the cover of her third album, ARTPOP. “Jeff Koons represents the ultimate dream – to be inspired by your homeland and create work that grows to be the most valuable contemporary art in the world,” Gaga says. Since then, the friends have forged a close bond, both artistically and personally. “He has so much joy and support for everything I want my fans to experience through ARTPOP.” she says. “he talked to me about how would gaze into his work for long periods of time, which is something that I felt very comforted by because I have always thought of my gazing as ‘obsessing’. I like to open the show with the gazing ball to centre the audience into the gravity of the message as the gaze into my heart.”
For Gaga, fashion is all about creative freedom, both for herself and the fans. “Fashion is one of my art forms,” she tells us. “It naturally empowers me every single day. When I made ARTPOP, I wanted my fans to see how your own art can empower you to your fullest.”
When Karl Lagerfeld recently asked her in a Harper’s Bazaar interview if she had a different look planned for every city of her tour, she responded: “I don’t have my looks planned, but it’s a nice compliment to suggest so… I bring lots of vintage pieces with me – jewels, hats, bags – and I’m also very fortunate to get sent beautiful couture and runway looks all over the world. I just wear what makes me feel good for the day. Right now I’m enjoying feeling like a lady.”
It turns out Gaga has a vast fashion archive in LA, boasting everything from stage costumes to couture gems, to rare collectables worn by stars of yesteryear. Gaga even has her own personal website where she can see everything. The tour pieces are the most cherished as she believes that clothes carry the soul of the designer and the person who wears them, those those worn on stage collect the energy and joy of her fans around the world. Will all of her outfits from the artRAVE tour find a home in the sartorial heaven? “Of course! My tour clothes are my most prized possessions,” she declares.
At just 28, it’s hard to believe Gaga has done so much trailblazing, constantly defying her critics. When asked what artwork would sum up her life, she replies cryptically: “My own artwork best describes me, but it is unfinished. There really is no art piece to sum up mu whole life because my life is nature, and nature is more beautiful than art.” and how about if she could paint a picture of her future? How would it look? “Like the one I am already painting.” smiles the artist currently known as Lady Gaga.
