It’s the Graveyard Gala, “Dead Dance” is ringing in the air, and fog is swirling as Lady Gaga made her gothic, witchy appearance. In towering, warped Marc Jacobs platforms, she walked the red carpet for Wednesday season two with fellow goth glam excavator Jenna Ortega, combining two designs by fellow Central Saint Martins graduates to create a spellbinding look.
Styled by Hunter Clem, Gaga wore the “Fly Witch” one piece by Belgium-born, London-based designer Anton Femia, from his “A Walk in the Forest” collection. It’s an all-black piece made of tulle with a boned cage corset, adorned with velvet ribbons and a collerette, and bouffant organza and tulle pants and skirt—finished with iridescent fly wings made by Femia’s sister Lucia. On Gaga’s head, a sculptural, umbrella-spiked black and slime green pillbox hat from Matthew David Andrews, made by milliner Jenny Beattie for his “The Venice of Essex” collection. Both designers showed their final BA Womenswear student collections for Central Saint Martins back in June, but didn’t know they’d be together again on Mother Monster.
“We have both admired each other’s work for such a long time, so it only feels right seeing our work paired together,” says Andrews. “We both love bold theatrical shapes—I think this stems from the similar research material we enjoy, and the fanciful story that drives our work.”
“We both enjoy theatrics, both in silhouette and texture,” says Femia. “He likes to reference historical trends and styles as well, and has works that feel very romantic yet decaying, a balance that I try to achieve as well.”
It’s “an honor” for Andrews to see Gaga in his design. “To now be a part of her archive of looks is incredible,” he says. “I feel as if she epitomizes what we all love about fashion—seeing her wearing the likes of McQueen introduced me to the world of high fashion and inspired me to become a designer.”
Lady Gaga has long been a devoted supporter of emerging and student designers. In 2009, she wore a sheer blue dress with beetle wings and human hair from Manchester Met student Holly Jayne Smith’s final year collection. In 2014, she bought Hong Kong-born designer Wilson PK’s entire collection. (Another Central Saint Martins student). Over the years, she’s worn several silicone dresses from RCA graduate designer Rachael Barrett and commissioned custom pieces, wearing one skin-like look in the “Bad Romance” music video. She also wore a full glittery pink tuxedo by a then little known London College of Fashion first year student designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis. In her Artpop era, she often looked to Icelandic student Rakel Sölvadóttir’s designs, and wore a visor by LCF alum Isabell Yalda Hellysaz on the album cover.
Both Andrews and Femia’s work looks at their childhood and natural surroundings through the lens of history, fantasy, and queerness—key tenets of Gaga’s style oeuvre. Andrews’s graduate collection was inspired by photographs of a flood that occurred in Wickford, his hometown, in 1958. Hats on the runway drizzled water, and garments reacted in blooming, bleeding patterns and shapes. “I wanted to use this devastating event as a metaphor for my struggles growing up as a queer child, drowning in the fear of revealing my true self,” explains Andrews. “The looks in the collection had ‘windswept’ silhouettes as if the models were battling a tremendous storm—hence the umbrella hat.” Also, Eurovision. “I think seeing a mixture of cultures showcasing their art through visual components and performance is very inspiring and allows you to embrace new and exciting ideas,” he adds. A campy, subversive pop culture parade? Also pretty textbook Gaga.
For Femia, this ensemble reflects his memories of the Belgian countryside—the forest, insects, and cobwebs. As you move through his collection, the looks morph more fantastically. He was inspired by folkloric characters from history, like the Slavic Baba Yaga and the Italian Befana, as well as Victorian lady silhouettes, 17th century panniers, puffed sleeves, and harem pants. The fly-winged witch walks after a corpse look. Femia also finds inspiration from his youth, growing up in West Africa, from Benin to Burkina Faso, and Bolivia and Belgium. “Growing up in Benin and Bolivia, the relationship these cultures have with nature is very different from how we see it here in Europe. It is a constant part of your life, rather than a retreat or vacation,” Femia says, looking at these cultures’ rituals and magic.
Now, Andrews is working on custom pieces, and Femia continues to work on his portfolio, hoping to move back to Belgium to complete a masters in Antwerp. Dressing celebrities with a strong sense of style, like FKA twigs or Elsa Hosk, is also on Femia’s list, while Andrews has hopes to dress someone for the Met Gala in the future.
