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.
The hat in progress for Matthew David Andrews’ “The Venice of Essex” Central Saint Martins BA Womenswear collection.Photo: Courtesy of Matthew David Andrews
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew David Andrews
The pill box hat section of Matthew David Andrews’ design.Courtesy of Matthew David Andrews
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew David Andrews
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.
The Fly Witch in construction, by Anton Femia.Photo: Courtesy of Anton Femia.
Wings by Lucia Femia.Photo: Courtesy of Anton Femia
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.