Lady Gaga Revives “Mother Monster” Style for Her Chromatica Ball Tour

Lady Gaga kicked off her much-anticipated Chromatica Ball world tour last night in Dusseldorf, Germany, and she certainly didn’t disappoint in terms of the fashion. (But does she ever?) On her stark stage inspired by brutalist architecture, the pop star emerged from fog and opened with her smash hit “Bad Romance” while wearing an equally-austere look: The shapely, extraterrestrial-like number—complete with spiked arms and shoulders—is an archival look from Gareth Pugh’s spring 2007 collectsion, finished off with her death-defying Pleaser platforms of course. Later in the show, she then changes into a new custom Pugh creation, this one complete with a conical harness.

Gaga’s Chromatica Ball tour fashion is the brainchild of her three go-to stylists: Nicola Formichetti, Tom Eerebout, and Sandra Amador. While the Chromatica album’s debut single, “Stupid Love,” saw Gaga embrace more of a futuristic pink vibe, the new tour sees Gaga reviving her signature “Mother Monster” style, which favors a darker, edgier aesthetic. The “Mother Monster” look is ominously sci-fi (but high-fashion), as evidenced by the outfits in her Monster Ball tour—where she wore exoskeletal Olima dresses—and Born This Way Ball tour—where she wore Alien-esque Armani. It's the look that Gaga is best known for. Though she's experimented with country western style for her Joanne album era, and Old Hollywood style for her A Star Is Born press tour, the Chromatica Ball is a glorious return to freaky-deaky dressing. The theatrical looks are filled with lots of latex and leather, avant-garde silhouettes, and even fake blood; During a performance of “Replay,” for instance, Gaga wears a nude latex bodysuit by Vex Latex that has the effect of being splattered in faux red goo—punctuated by taped X’s over the bust, and a gigantic spiked necklace that’s dangerous to the touch.

Gaga’s stage style is, of course, always connected back to the music. The singer has said the Chromatica Ball tour is a journey around trauma and healing, so the clothes play an integral role in telling that story. While her songs deal with a grappling of her inner demons, the fashion also appears ready for combat. One that certainly does is the cropped biker jacket with silver metal eyelets by Alexander McQueen, complete with a crystal harness from the label’s resort 2023 collectsion. There are also more upbeat, celebratory style moments in the show that represent a sense of overcoming—like the custom, gold moiré Alexander McQueen suit she wears for the campy house track “Babylon.” A glorious ending note? The fall 2007 couture gown from Christian Lacroix she wears in an interlude video for the tour, directed by Nick Knight.

As the new tour continues to develop and tour across the globe, time will only tell if even more dramatic Gaga looks are on their way (it is only night one, after all!). But for the Chromatica Ball debut, Gaga has already brought forward some of her best tour fashion yet, fusing a mixture of custom and archival numbers for a one-of-a-kind wardrobe. We’d expect nothing less from her.

Below, a closer look at Gaga’s new Chromatica Ball tour style.