Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Lady at Barney's New York

Graphics courtesy of Barney's New York, As used in tore and for promotional purposes
Outside the Store, Image courtesy of Barney's New York
Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay
Some of the merchandise being sold, images courtesy of Barney's New York


Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay

Photography: Marcus Hay
Every now again an Artist comes along in history that pushes boundaries and makes us gasp, sometimes in shock, sometimes in delight. Whether you are a fan or not, you can’t deny the world had become quite a boring place before Lady Gaga. You can’t deny her force; highly charged, motivated beyond belief she seems to be taking over the world. Living in New York I can’t deny her presence even more, for this is her town, the city in which the Lady was born. 

This week I made the trip to the flagship store on Madison Ave, Barney’s New York where it seems Lady Gaga has her stamp all over the building, On street level you are greeted by some amazing window displays inspired by guess what Lady Gaga! One window is entirely made of hairpieces; a black-clawed Lady Gaga figure sits in amongst her boudoir, the other window a serene Lady Gaga mermaid swims amongst sparkly icicles in a sea of blue. 

Gaga apparently teamed with her style guru Nicola Forichetti from Thierry Mugler and Barney’s Creative Director Dennis Freedman, Also with Christophe Hamaide Pierson, Eli Sudbrack and their art collective Assume Vivid Astro Focus (check out their amazing website) to help out with creating the windows, imagery and an entire floor of Barney’s to create a Gaga wonderland that houses crafted accessories and cosmetics and other gift ideas. 

On that floor are giant sculpture installations including a giant 8 foot Lady Gaga spider, The floor feels quite Surrealist meets Pop Art with an 1980’s edge. Campaign visuals include a cartoon rendering of Gaga with long blue hair and a sparkly red jumpsuit is being used to decorate Barney’s shopping bags and other packaging.

As a Stylist and Creative Director, I can’t help but marvel at the way a whole persona like Gaga can be packaged so well, to me this is quite inspirational. It reminds me of other icons we can’t forget, the unforgettable stamp recording artists like Elton John and David Bowie made on the 1970’s, Of course Madonna in the 1980’s (and beyond). It is without doubt pure fantasy, it could also be seen as self indulgent, but as people that work in a creative field would recognize, to have this freedom to create such an explosion of imagery is to be celebrated, at least I think so!     

It’s open till Jan 2nd, so make sure if you are In NYC, go and take a look!

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