Having a lot of looks on the red carpet gone down in historyand many have even found their way there museums or private collections so that the cult status can live on. When Lady Gaga Deciding to shock the world by showing up in a meat dress, it seemed like a fleeting moment for the unique costume. After all, how could you conserve something made from a substance that decomposes?
Well, that’s where the skills of taxidermy come in, and it turns out the dress survived after all – at a steep price!
Lady Gaga famously wore a dress made of flesh
Lady Gaga has never been one to shy away from a bold look. The singer often used fashion to make in-your-face statements featuring everything from arriving to the Grammys in an egg to wearing a jacket made out of Kermit dolls. Undoubtedly, the look that has rocked her and sparked the most controversy is her infamous meat dress.
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The dress in question was worn at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The look was shocking and drew a lot of hand-wringing, particularly from animal rights activists, who viewed the stunt as appalling and distasteful. For her part, Lady Gaga insisted that she didn’t mean to offend anyone, but wanted to make a statement: “If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’ll have as many rights as the meat on our bones. And I’m not a piece of meat.”
When billboard The protest was reportedly directed against the abuse of gay military personnel and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Lady Gaga’s flesh dress was prepared by a taxidermist
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To get the iconic look, Lady Gaga turned to designer Nicola Formichetti, who used meat from his family’s butcher to create the dress. He started with expensive cuts of steak, but he couldn’t get the thick pieces together properly. Instead, he used cheaper, thinner sections stained dark red to preserve the appearance of blood. When BuzzFeed The dress reportedly began to smell as the material thawed.
When Lady Gaga finished sashaying down the red carpet to show off her attention-grabbing look, the dress sure was a bit soggy. It was stored deep-frozen for a few weeks and then handed over to a taxidermist for preservation.
When The Washington Post explained, this work went to Sergio Vigilato, a taxidermist who definitely found the task unique. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame approached him for the dress, and he feared it might already be too far away. When it thawed, he did smell the odor of decomposition, but he had a job to do: “The Rock and Roll Museum had already paid me for it—$6,000—so I got on with it.”
After more than a month of cleaning in a proprietary process using bleach and formaldehyde, the dress was taped to a mannequin and shipped to the museum.
Lady Gaga wasn’t the first to wear a dress made out of flesh
Lady Gaga didn’t make this up her statement-worthy look on your own. She heard about the idea from Australian makeup designer Val Garland, who tried the look in the 1970s. The designer reported that she showed up to a party adorned with blood-soaked flesh, which splashed guests as she started dancing.
Other artists have used meat to capture the attention (or just plain shock) of audiences. Pop artist Mark Ryden created a piece titled Dubbed incarnation, which features a wide-eyed blonde girl wearing a meat dress that eerily resembles Lady Gaga’s later look. Ryden’s play debuted in 2009, the year before Lady Gaga met the VMAs in person.
TIED TOGETHER: The Obvious Reason Billie Eilish Hated Lady Gaga’s Infamous Meat Dress
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/lady-gagas-infamous-meat-dress-preserved-taxidermist.html/ Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress preserved by a taxidermist for $6,000
