We know a few things about Lady Gaga’s new album, Born This Way: it’s coming out May 23rd, and we’ll get to hear the first single February 13th. But for now, we can only speculate on what it will sound it like. Luckily, Gaga tends to wear her preoccupations on her sleeve — quite literally. For her “Alejandro” phase, Gaga was a Spanish widow, dark-haired, draped in lace, and crying rivers of mascara; in the “LoveGame” era, she was a clubland cartoon, encrusted in crystals and sporting giant bows made of hair. Perusing the photos from the pop star’s Polaroid Grey Label presentation last night, we couldn’t help but speculate on what her recent ensembles might reveal about Born This Way.
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The Polaroid presentation, which took place at Las Vegas’s Consumer Electronics Show, saw a relatively subdued Gaga — probably because her freaky camera glasses needed to take center stage. But the goth-tinged outfit, complete with veil and corset, give a hint of where Our Lady’s head is at these days. The darkly romantic style may mean we’ll see music that’s more “Bad Romance” or “Paparazzi” than “Telephone” or “LoveGame.” We’re pretty sure this is a good thing.
Gaga kicked off the New Year by tweeting the release dates for Born This Way and its eponymous first single. She also included this image of herself, clad in a badass denim jacket, sporting bleached hair and dark roots, and, of course, flashing some butt. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that she’s referencing punk rock in a big way. So we’ll be looking for Born This Way to have a harder, perhaps retro edge. As for the way Gaga’s incorporated unicorns into the look — on both her skin and jacket — we’ve got to think that’s about reclaiming. It feels like a further nod to her queer fanbase, a juxtaposition of fey and tough.
The jewel-encrusted catsuit above, topped with a blinged-out harness, and the pants-free, leather jacket-and-collar ensemble seem like syntheses of the two looks above. Bondage gear is, after all, the place where goth and punk fashion meet. Perhaps Born This Way will attempt a similar fusion.
