It’s widely known that Lady Gaga takes method acting to the extreme. While filming House of Gucci, for instance, she infamously lived as her convicted felon character Patrizia Reggiani for a year and a half. Filming Joker 2 was a similar experience for Gaga. She apparently insisted on being called “Lee” (likely a nickname for her character, Harley Quinn), on set and wouldn’t respond otherwise.
Now that production has wrapped, her method-acting practices have extended well into her press tour. Behold, her Joker 2 method dressing.
The sartorial practice is hardly novel. Everyone from Jenna Ortega to Zendaya has ascribed to taking outfit inspiration from their projects. While some actors’ interpretations are more literal (e.g., Blake Lively’s on-the-nose floral looks to channel her It Ends With Us florist alter-ego), others practically dress as their characters — no matter how disturbing they may be. Behold, Gaga’s take on “clowncore.”
Lady Gaga’s Clowncore ‘Fit
Clowncore, which is basically dressing like the most fearsome children’s party guest, is the antithesis of chic. It’s maximalist, loud, and utterly chaotic. And on Gaga? It’s also kind of cool.
During her Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the “Shallow” singer looked like she was about to make animal balloon art. She wore a sheer dress with an Elizabethan collar (aka the clown’s ruffle collar), puff sleeves, and an intentionally ragged skirt, distressed and raw at the seams.
The torso, meanwhile, played with a “cheugy” print: harlequin. The diamond pattern was named after the go-to print of those in the clown biz. Bonus points that it was also a nod to her character’s name. Her wardrobe choice featured patchwork-style diamonds in muted pinks and greens.
Leaning further into the jester motif, she wore lacy white stockings and pointe-toe-inspired ballet heels.
Her Other Circus Nods
Her press tour has already been a series of harlequin-inspired looks. Last week, at a fan event in London, Gaga wore a striped mini-dress with similarly puffy sleeves. Going the maximalist, print-on-print route, she paired it with black-and-cream harlequin tights.
That same day, she changed into another look bearing the cheugy print. Instead of a classic two-toned diamond pattern, however, she wore a bodysuit covered in diamond shapes — each with a different cartoonish picture. Upping the chaos, she paired it with matching leggings under ruffly distressed red cycling shorts with pink ruffly trims.
Only Gaga can pull this off.
