Following on from our Gaga or Geisha post….
Labelled the next Madonna, Lady Gaga is know becoming quite famous for qualities other then her singing, mainly her fashion sense. You can read in Part 1 of this article how I believe Lady Gaga embraces the accessory styles such as hair and make up of the traditional Japanese’s Geisha and in this article hopefully you will be able to see how she adds a touch of the same into her wardrobe.
The traditional kimono of the Geisha (which can be seem below) consists of a wrap around dress that is tight around the chest and shaped into a V, the dress then smoothes out the shoulders moving in to lose sweeping arms. Under the bust they wear large tight belts, called obi’s which are actually sashes, these accentuate the waste, large obi’s can be seen at the back of a Geishas dress and it sticks out a fair way similar to the European bustle. The remainder of the dress stays relatively straight line finishing at the ankles.
Ok I am the first to admit that the above, does not seem to Geisha like, but if you look closely at the general shape of the ensemble you will see that the top of her outfit is V shaped, and under that there is a large figure hugging belt followed by a straight lined floor length skirt. Admittedly the colour is different and you don’t see too many kimonos with feather collars but the basics are there.
From the above outfits you can see that Lady Gaga likes to have a fitted waist line that accentuates her shape that is followed by a skirt, which often tends to stick out further then your normal skirt. The edges stick out at unusual angles not unlike the back of the Geishas obi giving the star a look of strange proportion but it still manages to be flattering.
Basically Lady Gaga could have taken the original Geisha appearance and modified it to suit the current times, mainly by sharpening the lines, using different fabrics and shaking up the colour scheme. I don’t mean that the star has does this on purpose but it is interesting to note the influence these ancient entertainers seem to still be having on the current fashion market. Maybe she has done it on purpose or maybe it’s just a coincidence . . . either way there is no denying the essence of these Japanese beauties is still alive and kicking.
