Lady Gaga Turned The Grammys Into A Study Of Gothic Couture And Fashion History

I have always admired Lady Gaga’s style. Ever since she unleashed the ‘Abacadabra’ era with its theatrical costumes and surreal visuals, it felt like the Lady Gaga fashion epoch had returned (not that it ever truly left.) She has always moved effortlessly between avant-garde and poetic elegance, treating red carpets and stages alike as canvases for her imagination. At the 2026 Grammy Awards she once again rewrote the style lexicon with two unforgettable looks — one on the red carpet and one on stage during her performance.

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Her arrival at the Grammy red carpet was the stuff of modern gothic fairytale. Gaga wore a custom feathered couture gown by Parisian label Matières Fécales. It was raven black from head to toe, its surface covered in swirling plumes that seemed to ripple even when still. The silhouette hugged her like a whispered legend, cinching at the waist and flowing into a dramatic train. The neckline rose up to frame her face, evoking images of a high fashion Black Swan in motion — regal, predatory, and utterly magnetic. Her platinum blond hair was swept into a soft medieval-like updo, with bleached brows softening the intensity of the feathers. There was no need for loud accessories; her confidence was really enough to carry the dress! 

This gown — so rich in texture yet so pure in its gothic palette — felt like a full circle moment. Gaga has always used feathers, but here they were stilled into something architectural and portentous. It was as if she brought an entire nocturnal cosmos with her down the red carpet, a constellation of obsidian feathers shimmering under flashes. This was an embodiment of her ‘Mayhem’ era aesthetic: dramatic, introspective, unfiltered. 

Then came her stage look for her performance of ‘Abracadabra.’ Gaga chose to honour her deep and longstanding reverence for Alexander McQueen by wearing an archival piece from his Fall/Winter 2009 ‘Horn of Plenty’ collection. This was fashion history worn as performance art. The outfit combined a black and red feathered bolero jacket with exaggerated shoulders and a structured pencil skirt, both sculpted with the sharp precision that McQueen’s archives are known for. The unexpected centerpiece was a towering, birdcage-inspired headpiece crafted by Philip Treacy. Its wicker structure split at the front, framing Gaga’s face like a relic unearthed in a cathedral of couture.

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The McQueen ensemble was a masterclass in contrast. The feathers spoke of organic chaos while the pencil skirt and haute tailoring hinted at discipline and control. When Gaga stepped onto that stage, the garment seemed to come alive with her vocals — a celebration of McQueen’s legacy and her own fearless artistry. There was something intimate in watching her perform in such an archival piece, taking us back to the era of Gaga-McQueen collaboration. The designer and the muse were truly made for each other. 

Lady Gaga’s Grammy night was more than a series of outfits. It was a continuation of a personal dialogue with fashion history, with her own evolution, and with the dramatic worlds she conjures through music and imagery. For a generation that grew up witnessing Gaga rise from the meat dress spectacles to this refined gothic majesty, these looks feel both familiar and startlingly new.

In 2026 she stood on one of music’s biggest stages and carried couture like a manifesto. Gaga reminded us that gothic glamour still lives at the heart of red carpet couture, and that fashion’s power lies in its ability to evoke emotion, history, and myth — all at once.

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