Analysis: Lady Gaga’s ‘Men’s Suit Made for a Woman’ Makes Powerful Statement

In Lady Gaga’s speech at Elle magazine’s 2018 Women in Hollywood event, she spoke about her salted wounds through her caricatured suit. Regardless of her legendary artistic journey and fortune, she has struggled with society’s accepted disadvantages of being a woman: assault, mental health issues and the utmost disrespect for an “inferior” gender.

That night at this feminist celebration, Lady Gaga talked about choosing an outfit for the red carpet, and after trying on two handfuls of dresses, she landed on a men’s Marc Jacobs suit that hung “very quietly in the corner.”

When she put it on for the first time, the people who thought they knew fashion tossed grimaces her way, and tried to herd her back to the corsets and beaded gowns. What her fashion gurus could not have known at the time was that the suit was the answer to a long-time question: what does being a woman in Hollywood really mean?

The suit could have fit three of her bodies inside, and many would think she would drown in it, but they were wrong. She remained afloat.

The beige suit jacket, held together by one black, silver-dollar-sized button, gave her a set of shoulders made for a titan. It was the epitome of a power suit, but at the same time, beneath the surface laid a woman who was fragile, but wholeheartedly willing to speak up.

While the pants could have fit elephant legs, they draped Gaga’s like da Vinci’s last stroke of blush on Mona Lisa’s cheeks. The pants did not just represent her inner emotion. They were necessary to tell the world that women are here. Women are hurt by the disrespect they face daily. But, women are strong and they will never stop paddling until they reach a shore of equality.

All it takes is the right outfit that reflects every woman’s individual soul, whether it is monkey pajamas, a little black dress, or a man’s over-sized suit. And Gaga was fully aware of this. She reminded the women in the room,

“We are not just objects to entertain the world” she said, fiercely pointing at the crowd. “We have the power to speak, and be heard, and fight back when we are silenced.”

Maybe through her tears and that lump in her throat, Gaga will not be longing for change forever.

You’re off the deep end. We watched as you dove in. You’ll never meet the ground again. You crashed through the surface where they can’t hurt you.

Lady, you are far from the shallow now, and we might just join you.