Lady Gaga is known for her out-there sense of style – this is the woman who wore a dress made of raw steak to the MTV VMAs, after all. The Bad Romance singer announced she is ‘wearing the pants’ as she chose an oversized suit to showcase the power she has as a woman and sexual assault survivor at Elle’s Women In Hollywood ceremony.
Fresh from her impressive turn in A Star Is Born, the 32-year-old was honoured as one of the Women In Hollywood of the night, and chose an oversized Marc Jacobs suit for the occasion. The massive blazer and trousers looked achingly cool rather than sloppy, with Gaga going braless beneath the jacket and teaming the lewk with slicked back hair and smokey eyeshadow.
And during her acceptance speech, she revealed the edgy suit wasn’t just a fashion statement. Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, said: ‘I tried on dress after dress today getting ready for this event, one tight corset after another, one heel after another, a diamond, a feather, thousands of beaded fabrics and the most beautiful silks in the world. To be honest, I felt sick to my stomach. And I asked myself: What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood? We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to people’s faces. We are not members of a giant beauty pageant meant to be pit against one another for the pleasure of the public. ‘We women in Hollywood, we are voices. We have deep thoughts and ideas and beliefs and values about the world and we have the power to speak and be heard and fight back when we are silenced.
‘So, after trying 10 or so dresses, with a sad feeling in my heart, that all that would matter was what I wore to this red carpet, I saw an oversized Marc Jacobs suit buried quietly in the corner. I put it on to a resounding view of eyes glaring at me in confusion. But the Rodarte was so beautiful! one said. But the Raf Simons for Calvin Klein was so stunning on you! said another. But what about the Brandon Maxwell? What about the Dior? Lots of questions. They were all dresses. This was an oversized men’s suit made for a woman. Not a gown. ‘And then I began to cry. In this suit, I felt like me today. In this suit, I felt the truth of who I am well up in my gut. And then wondering what I wanted to say tonight become very clear to me.
As a sexual assault survivor by someone in the entertainment industry, as a woman who is still not brave enough to say his name, as a woman who lives with chronic pain, as a woman who was conditioned at a very young age to listen to what men told me to do, I decided today I wanted to take the power back. Today I wear the pants.’ In her emotional speech, Gaga spoke about her battle with Fibromyalgia and post traumatic stress disorder, other mental health issues, and her experience of sexual assault. The popstar cried as she was greeted on stage by Jennifer Lopez, who said: ‘When they tell us to stay in our lane, we make a new one.’