Top 10 Wildest Lady Gaga Music Video Looks

Lady Gaga’s second major single from her debut album was “Poker Face”, which also ushered in the era of the hair bow. From the moment she stepped onto the scene it was obvious that Gaga was not going to be dressing like all the other pop starlets out there, and that she was bringing something new and bold to the table. Her perfectly bizarre bow made out of hair spurred on many copycats and became a look that was emblematic of her style, coming back in different iterations throughout the years.

As she settled into her popularity, Gaga got even more bold with her outfits. While her earlier looks could have been seen as quirky party girl, she went full-on dystopian overlord in the video for “Alejandro”. As she watches a group of male dancers from her throne, she wears an elaborate sci-fi inspired outfit, retrofitted with what seem to be lace-covered binoculars. Is she supposed to be able to see through them? Are they to block her eyes from the troubling sights before her? Who can say? She also sports a cape by Alexander McQueen, so she’s definitely going for a high fashion aesthetic.

When Lady Gaga teamed up with Beyoncé for her song “Telephone”, music fans everywhere rejoiced. Portions of the video are set in a prison, and when Gaga is brought in she’s stripped from her couture looking outfit. But she obviously has such a great sense of style that she can fashion something that looks like it belongs on a runway just with supplies she finds in jail. Clearly one for out-there eyewear, she wears a pair of glasses that is made up of partially smoked cigarettes. In fact, they’re even smoking as she wears them! We ask again: can she actually see?

The video for “Million Reasons” gave us a much more stripped down version of Gaga, both in appearance and musical stylings. We get to hear her voice with little modification and see her face without much makeup or accoutrements. She does pull out a memorable outfit nonetheless though when she wears a powder pink suit with flared pants. The look also features heels and a cowboy hat in the same color. The entire end result matches the country sound of the song. Meanwhile, her extra long hair extensions make it even more extra.

The video for Gaga’s song “Stupid Love” is set in an apocalyptic world that looks part end of days and part Burning Man. For much of the video, she wears a pink latex ensemble with rosy locks to match. The outfit isn’t much more than a glorified bikini, embellished with chains and even a dangerous looking spiked belt. The futuristic makeup she pairs with it brings the whole thing together. She sticks to a similar color palette for the entire video, but also wears a more lilac-hued outfit that harkens back to her intergalactic days.

The video for “Paparazzi” is full of wild outfits, but many of them follow a similar vein to looks she wears in other settings. The real standout then is a bizarre ensemble that might be a Minnie Mouse who travelled to the future. It involves a yellow jumpsuit covered with a mouse head print that looks like possible Disney copyright infringement. And while she doesn’t pair it with mouse ears like you’d see at the most magical place on earth, she does wear a set of glasses that give a similar appearance. The stylized black lipstick definitely adds to the effect.

In the video for “You and I”, Lady Gaga plays several characters, including a male alter ego, Jo Calderone and a mermaid named Yüyi. Seeing Gaga play around with different personalities is always fun, but seeing her dressed up as a dude was particularly surprising. For her masculine self, Gaga opted for a look that seemed like something out of “Grease”: a retro vibe with slicked back hair and rolled up shirtsleeves. Of course, smoking was all a bit part of the overall effect. While we love when she goes ultra feminine, this was a nice change of pace.

While there is some level of continuity to many of Gaga’s videos, in many ways “Applause” stands on its own. One of the creators of the video, Inez van Lamsweerde, said that the inspiration for the aesthetic came from early silent films and horror movies. Gaga’s look for much of the video seems inspired by Pierrot, the pantomime character from Comédie-Italienne. We particularly love the colorful makeup smeared all over her face that looks like something intentional and artistic rather than just messy. The fact that the base of her face is starkly painted white adds to the effect.

Alexander McQueen was one of the greatest fashion designers of our age, and when he died in 2010, the entire community went into mourning. Gaga had long been a fan of his work, employing his otherworldly designs in ways that no one else could. One great example is in the video for “Bad Romance”, where his pieces appear in many different scenes. Most notable though is the breakdown, when Gaga wears his massive armadillo heels and a nearly indescribably outfit that makes the alien look sartorial. The scintillating material is impossible to look away from and the silhouette was like nothing we had seen before.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

The Birth of Venus
“Applause”

Dominatrix Leather
“The Edge of Glory”

Phoenix
“G.U.Y.”

Mirror Mask
“Poker Face”

Studded Outfit
“Telephone” feat. Beyoncé

Who ever could have imagined that undead makeup could look so chic? In the video for “Born This Way”, one segment features Gaga with her face painted in Rick Genest’s style, a model who was known around the world as Zombie Boy because of his distinctive skeletal face tattoos - and he also appeared in the video itself. Gaga’s makeup team worked hard to make her look match his, and the pair both wore ultra stylish tuxedos by designer Thierry Mugler. While she wears a lot of crazy looks in this video that are more in line with her usual extraterrestrial vibe, there is none more memorable than this one!