If Lady Gaga walks a runway and the audience cannot recognize her, does Lady Gaga walk the runway? Such existential questions and more are explored in this AP video of Lady Gaga walking the runway for Marc Jacobs Thursday night in New York, which features Kiernan Shipka effusing about the walk, and Sandra Bernhard realizing that “the blonde” who is “unrecognizable, she’s a chameleon” was indeed the pop star. (A juicier theory: the comedian, a lifelong friend of Madonna, was throwing shade like a true ninja.)
The show, which was apparently soundtracked by sustained bells, had the models in finger wave mullets, smudgy Alice Cooper eyeliner and feathery, furry accoutrements that suggested his inspirations were both Gibson Girls and haunted dolls. There was also an immense tinge of Gothic Lolita, the ongoing Harajuku style that is exactly that, in a spider-webbed lace dress with petticoats and an oversized poet shirt paired with a baby pink pair of boots. Gaga walked right after Kendall Jenner—in a resplendent tweed embellished with cocky ostrich feathers as epaulets—and were she not immediately recognizable in the face, she was definitely so in height, about half of every other model on the runway. (It’s fair to not know right away, though; I’m still trying to work out if this is Brooke Candy. That’s Brooke Candy, right?)
It was a pretty exceptional collection, beautiful and lush, and as eras go it’s quite a relief to see the luxuriant ‘30s inspiring a designer in the midst of this ‘70s hellscape we’ve been living. (Look at this!) So, who wants to dress up like a ghost from Tin Pan Alley? I’m totally in.
