When Lady Gaga appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made entirely of raw beef, she managed to outdo even herself. The singer, known for her outrageous fashion choices, took to the stage wearing a flank steak creation that included matching boots, a hat, and a meat clutch. 'I never thought I'd be asking Cher to hold my meat purse,' Gaga joked as she accepted the award for Best Video for 'Bad Romance.'
The idea for the meat dress originated from a conversation with make-up artist Val Garland, who had worn a similar outfit in the 1980s. 'I flattened steaks and made a sort of bra bikini top, and then I cooked bacon and made that into some kind of boot,' Garland told BBC Culture. Gaga asked if she could develop the idea, and Garland gave her blessing.
Designer Franc Fernandez, who created the dress, recalled the process on the BBC podcast Witness History. 'I'm Argentinean so most of our dishes are essentially just red meat, so we have a very close relationship with butchers,' he said. 'I went to my family butcher, told them I was going to sew meat as if it was fabric, and they were like, 'oh, then you want to use this cut, that cut.'' He described the experience as challenging but enjoyable, noting it had a 'horror-movie energy.'
Gaga later told Vogue that the dress 'smelled like meat' and was 'thrilling to wear.' She explained that a corset was sewn to the meat, making it a proper garment. The outfit was not her first meat-based ensemble; a week earlier, she had worn a meat bikini on the cover of Vogue Hommes Japan.
The meat dress became one of the most memorable outfits of Gaga's career, alongside other iconic looks such as the Alexander McQueen gown and 12-inch Armadillo shoes she wore to the same event. Despite the shock value, the dress sparked widespread discussion and remains a defining moment in pop culture history.
