The stylish and eccentric Lady Gaga was captured in a 2009 London photo shoot for the 35th anniversary of Hello Kitty. The images were shot by celebrity photographer Markus Klinko, who has worked with the likes of Beyoncé, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell and Iman. Just to name a few!
In the words of Markus… “Lady Gaga is one of the most interesting stars in the world. I was fascinated with her intelligence, the level of artistry and knowledge that she has, not just in her domain as a singer but also photography, fashion and general art.
“Lady Gaga is one of those women, who, like Madonna, have these super glamorous careers, but they are very intelligent and very much in charge of their own careers. Despite the fact that she has a large entourage of people that work for her, she is completely in charge and she dictates exactly how she works. It’s extremely clear after working with her that nobody tells Gaga what to do, she tells people what to do. She was a great collaborator when I worked with her, we had a wonderful exchange of ideas, but she doesn’t have handlers that tell her what to do. A lot of artists have an entourage of people that handle everything for them, do everything for them, tell them what to do, what to wear, how to look, how to smile, how to talk, but definitely not Gaga. She is not contrived. Everything with Gaga comes naturally – that’s just who she is. She is not fake. She is super cool, fun, and is very, very passionate about what she does.”
Lights, Camera, Action: Behind The Scenes
“To have the very sexy, the very ‘R rated’ Lady Gaga be the spokesperson for the very ‘G rated’ Hello Kitty is bizarre, it’s ridiculous. It was the perfect shoot. “
In 2009, Hello Kitty contacted my agent about shooting an image for their 35th anniversary campaign. They wanted to do a symbolic image but I thought it was very boring and had the spontaneous idea: Why don’t we do this with Lady Gaga? We found this Masonic temple in London and shot it there. We thought it would be really cool to have that golden star behind her head, a mix of the occult and the pop star: the high priestess of pop.”
“In the first [shoot], Gaga donned a jewel-encrusted bra with a matching eye-piece, Marilyn Monroe-style locks, fishnet tights and a Hello Kitty purse strung around her waist. In the second [shoot] she posed against a gold backdrop, with Hello Kitty’s signature red bow in her hair, and manga cartoon eyes drawn over her lids. She also donned a dress made entirely from Hello Kitty cuddly toys, and a sleeveless black leather biker jacket teamed with vertiginous Hello Kitty heels.” ~ Markus Klinko
The Fame Monster
The images from Lady Gaga’s ‘Hello Kitty’ photoshoot were featured in the special, limited edition reissue of Gaga’s hit album, The Fame Monster.
The Fame Monster is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga’s debut studio album, The Fame (2008), and was released on November 18, 2009, through Interscope Records. Initially planned solely as a deluxe edition reissue of The Fame, Interscope later decided to release the eight new songs as a standalone EP in some territories. The decision was also because Gaga believed the re-release was too expensive and that the albums were conceptually different, describing them as yin and yang. The deluxe edition is a double album featuring the eight new songs on the first disc and The Fame on the second disc. A super deluxe edition was released on December 15, 2009, holding additional merchandise, including a lock from Gaga’s wig.
An electro-pop record, The Fame Monster has influences of disco, glam rock, and synth-pop music of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as industrial and gothic music. The album was also inspired by fashion shows and runways. According to Gaga, the album deals with the darker side of fame, with its theme lyrically expressed through a monster metaphor. The cover artwork, shot by Hedi Slimane, has a Gothic theme and was declined for release by her record company, but Gaga persuaded them. The Fame Monster received positive reviews from music critics. The album charted as The Fame in some countries, and topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Finland, New Zealand, and Poland. In the United States, the EP reached number five on the Billboard 200 and topped the Dance / Electronic Albums chart. The album has won multiple awards since its release. It was nominated in a total of six categories at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, including Gaga’s second consecutive Album of the Year nomination. It won three, including Best Pop Vocal Album.
“Bad Romance”, the album’s lead single, was a commercial success, topping the charts in more than twenty countries and reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The next two singles, “Telephone” and “Alejandro”, reached the top ten in multiple countries worldwide. “Dance in the Dark” was released as a single only in select territories, achieving moderate chart success. To promote the album, Gaga embarked on The Monster Ball Tour (2009–2011), which became the highest-grossing tour in history by a debut headlining artist.
Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Courtesy of Addicted Art Gallery, Singapore.