Lady Gaga’s music exudes originality, and her outfits only add to the shock value. In 2010, she presented at the MTV Video Music Awards wearing her infamous meat dress. Gaga claimed she was making a statement against the U.S. military’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy while members of PETA practically died of shame. Many of Lady Gaga’s other past ensembles have also been the expression of social activism.
Seeing Gaga dominate the pop music scene, other female pop artists became envious of her brilliant marketing tactics. It wasn’t long before they started wearing outrageous outfits, too. Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry both wear colorful wigs and bright, provocative clothing during performances and on the red carpet. It makes them look like caricatures of themselves.
Also, these outfits only accentuate certain body parts. In Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” music video, she wore a cupcake bra that showed off her bodacious bosom in a cartoon-like way. Nicki Minaj wears skintight pants and dresses to put all the attention on her “ass”et. They certainly know all the publicity tricks, that’s for sure.
Singers Pink, Demi Lovato, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Ke$ha, Beyoncé and Jessie J follow this trend as well. It’s as if the more leather, studs, feathers and glitter they wear, the more money they’ll make. Getting a little too obsessed with the drag queen look, perhaps?
While I do commend these musical artists for their bravery for putting themselves out there (really far out there) for the world to judge them, I wouldn’t consider them original anymore. They all do it now. Let’s not forget about Cee Lo Green’s feather get-up at the 2011 Grammys or Bjork’s swan dress, the OG of whimsical red carpet outfits.
Their individual attempts to stand out have backfired, because they have simply failed to meet Bjork, Madonna and Lady Gaga’s standards. These three have set the bar too high. So Demi Lovato decided to dip dye her hair pink, and Rihanna chose to bring back extreme shoulder pads. Where’s the excitement in that? We want fireworks shooting out of their dresses and gold-encrusted lipstick. The American public has become so used to this type of fashion. Therefore, the celebrities must continue to push the envelope to give us what we demand.
Adele seems to be the outcast here. She stands out by wearing sleek, modest black dresses. It’s so backward, but pop culture has come to this. Maybe I’ll start wearing Alexander McQueen high heels to class and see what kind of reaction I get.
Natalie Hicks can be reached at natalie.hicks@theminaretonline.com