LADY GAGA "APPLAUSE" VIDEO FASHION CREDITS

Honestly, do yourself a favour and watch the video in HD fullscreen. Not like this.

This video is EPIC! One of the best music videos Gaga has created with the help of directors Inez & Vinoodh. Bloody geniuses. The film has been described as a battle between black and white with colour in a bid for your Applause. 

Inez van Lamsweerde, who is co-director of the music video, gives some detail behind the concept of this materpiece to MTV News:

The Clam Bikini
She explained that “we were extremely inspired by Botticelli’s painting,” for that look where Gaga appears in a clam shell bikini, her curls cascading around her shoulders. She added “[We were also inspired by] having this idea that she goes through this struggle to go back onstage, which is in that pink laser tower. And she’s sort of dragging that leg as a trophy and making it back on stage as a fully-realized, complete new person and that’s why the Botticelli came to mind.”

The Black Swan
The scene where Gaga’s head appears on a black swan was not inspired by the Darren Aronofsky film, but instead more by Gaga’s fascination with eggs. “She’s always had the egg reference in her work and since this video is kind of about a rebirth and at the end there’s the Botticelli ‘Birth of Venus’ reference, so we said, ‘OK, an egg… a fur egg and what comes out of a fur egg?‘ In our minds, a black swan with her face on it,” Inez said.

That Other Bikini
For a song like “Applause,” the directors knew they needed a way to get hands in there so they found the most unexpected way to do it. She said, “The glove-kini! That’s Brandon Maxwell, her fashion director that had that made. The song’s called ‘Applause.’ There had to be hands.”

Cat Walk
Inez explained the fashion show was all Gaga’s idea. “She always had it in her head that she wanted to do a fashion show, where she would be flying instead of walking. She always been incredibly inspired by fashion and its energy, so it felt extremely [right] to have that part of her life represented,” she said, noting the crew knew they wanted her in Galliano for that scene.

Bed Bug
While much of the video verges on the wacky, it’s held together by scenes where Gaga writhes around on her bed.

“Originally it was meant to be a tiny vignette in the video that would look back at a past time in her life when she was fresh out of school and living in the Lower East Side and dreamt of whatever her future would be,” Inez explained. “And that was there to represent that. She used to have that kind of hair when she was 18, 19, so we said that’s that past moment. When we started shooting it, it felt so great we said ‘Let’s do the whole song on this mattress and do the choreography laying down.’ And she performed so incredibly it felt [like] such a real, raw feeling. It made it as the thread through the whole video. That’s the real and the rest is sort of the dreams she had.”

Right, onto the fashion.
Obvioulsy the looks are amazing and styled to perfection by none other that Brandon Maxwell, Nicola Formichetti's former assistant. I loved that most of the outfits were custom made, it adds to the concept of the video. My favourite fashion moment has to be Natali Germanotta's collaboration with the Haus and Gaga walking down the cat walk in Galliano.

Valentino Couture - lace bottoms
Pretty Wild - bra
Alaia - boots

Maison Martin Margiela - couture jacket
Haus of Gaga in collaboration with Natali Germanotta & Swarovski - custom mirrored bodysuit
 

The MMM "Chopin" jacket  is made from white marble cabochons around the neck, black ones on the inner vest and green ones on the outer jacket. It took 93 hours to complete just this look!

Olivier Theyskens - custom skeletal corset and skirt
Pleaser - boots

Gareth Pugh - custom white inflateable coat
Mila Schon - catsuit
Alaia - boots

Haus of Gaga - custom seashell bra and panties

GAGA
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac - custom bra, panties, gloves and neckpiece

 DANCERS

Bloch and Rupskin - dancewear

GAGA 
Archive John Galliano - gown
Mathieu Mirano - custom body chain
(the body chain was originally designed to be worn as a bra. It is made from scorched duct tape discs burned from a blow torch and them embellished with safety pins and crystals)
Halaby - necklace worn as heapiece

Marla Weinhoff Studio - custom oversized leg

DANCERS

Luke Brooks - custom headpieces

The gown worn by Gaga was the finale look at John Galliano's Fall 2009 collection. The collection was inspired by Russian-Balkan folklore.

GAGA 
Mila Schon - catsuit
Junker Designs - custom wings
Alaia - boots

DANCERS

Bloch and Rupskin - dancewear

Charlie Le Mindu - custom blonde hair headpieces

Theresa Dapra - custom black headpieces

Mila Schon Fall 2013

House of Lavande - custom jeweled mask

Tracy Smith (owner and designer of House of Lavande) - “The eyes of the mask are vintage crystal earrings that are affixed to vintage lockets, allowing them to open & close, and the inside of the lockets are installed with mirrors”. The mask was hand sewn entirely with glass beading.

Fashion Director & Stylist: Brandon Maxwell
Fashion Stylist Assistants: Sandra Amador & Hayley Pisaturo
Haus of Gaga Costume Designer: Perry Meek
Set Design: Marla Weinhoff
Hair: Shay Ashual
Hair Assistants: Anthony Kelley, Sean Mikel Hare & Nikki Providence
Makeup: Yadim Carranza
Makeup assistants: Mondo Leon & Kanako Takase
Dancer Makeup: Sarah Tanno
Dancer Hair: Glenn Nutley
Dancer Hair Assistants: Jacquelyn Fanara & Crystal Pray
Manicurist: Michelle Saunders
Tailor: Susie Kourinian 

All fashion credits are courtesy of GAGAFASHIONLAND.COM