Inside Gaga’s Twisted Holiday Workshop
After much hype, from specially painted cabs to pop-up Gaga sculptures and Gaga portraits painted by Harlem schoolchildren, Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys opened at midnight last night. Designed by Eli Sudbrack, Christophe Hamaide Pierson, and a team of artists from Assume Vivid Astro Focus (avaf), the 5,500-square-foot shop takes inspiration from fun houses and Roald Dahl — in effect, it’s like Tim Burton meets Whoville on acid. The floor is black and the walls swirled and striped in trippy patterns. Shelving displays are shaped like cupped hands flaunting long, curly nails and exaggerated McQueen armadillo shoes. There’s a Lady Gaga train, a green-faced Lady Gaga spider, and a snarling, glowing Lady Gaga lip that doubles as an archway entering the candy shop. Cases bear one-of-a-kind teacups encrusted in glittering Swarovski crystals. The centerpiece of the workshop is a large-scale, deitylike sculpture of the contorted Gaga Workshop logo, lounging among mirrored crystals and flashing light-up, clawlike nails.
Nicola Formichetti oversaw the assortment of shopable merchandise, which is clustered into various retail areas:
• Candy Shop: Rock-candy earrings ($45), armadillo-shoe-shaped Eleni’s cookies ($95), and limited-edition jars of Papabubble candy ($40).
•Toy Shop: Weirdly cute plush monsters ($48) and trinkets.
• Library: Gaga magnetic paper dolls ($65), Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Gaga-themed paper masks ($25), and gold-trimmed journals ($65).
• Boudoir: A trio of “Edge of Glory” nail polishes by Deborah Lippmann, “Beauty is Life” cosmetic kit ($125), bedazzled Naomi Yasuda fake nails ($45), Gaga-themed Hourglass lip glosses (3 for $47).
• Jewelry and Gallery: All things studded, spangled, and glittered, from plastic Yottoi armadillo-shoe earrings ($25) to limited-edition spiked baubles by Erickson Beamon ($250 to $1,000+).
• Accessories: Hair bow headbands ($85), lace-covered sunglasses ($295), faux snakeskin totes ($245), iPad covers printed with strips of raw meat ($50), studded dog collars ($35).
• Closet: Tot-sized black leather jackets ($525 to $625) and a range of Gaga’s Workshop tees ($48 to $75).
• Holiday: Décor with a macabre twist, like mantel stockings shaped like dominatrix boots ($65) and armadillo shoe ornaments.
Though prices are steep, there’s a charitable slant: 25 percent of proceeds go to Gaga’s newly conceived Born This Way Foundation, which will fund programs for youth empowerment and anti-bullying. Click ahead for a look inside the workshop — you’ll never see it this empty again.
Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys, 660 Madison Ave., nr. 60th St.; through 1/2.
