House Of Gucci, a movie that is both glamorous and treacherous and which was based upon a real-life tale, has received rave reviews from fashion lovers and film buffs.
From a virginal bridal gown to sizzling skiwear, the film has its leading lady — Lady Gaga as jealous Patrizia Reggiani, who hired a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci — tripping a veritable catwalk of style across the big screen.
Janty Yates is the Oscar-winning British costume designer and Janty has exclusive access to reveal how Lady Gaga became ‘the Black Widow.’
1: SHORT COUNT TO STYLE
First impressions are important, so Patrizia wore a dress that was similar to the pink one that Patrizia wore in real life.
Janty’s costume cutter Dominic Young had to cut it using duchess satin. It took six weeks for the garment to be fitted.
Originally the gown was much longer — rising by 18 in at Ridley Scott’s request.
Janty: “We had five cameras crews in waiting for that day. Luckily LG.” [as she calls Lady Gaga]Her man, a New Yorker who was a master sewer and who had the steadyest hands of all, came with her.
Lady Gaga’s Patrizia wore a dress that was modeled after a pink gown that Patrizia wore in real life (left).
“So we sat her on an applebox and then took sharp scissors to the box!’.
Patrizia Reggiani, the Queen of Bling was never satisfied with just one piece of jewelry. She would choose to have a half dozen.
Janty had 20 boxes of costume jewelry on hand for most of the film. However, Boucheron and Bulgari would send security personnel to set with their finest: diamonds or rubies from Bulgari.
2: LOGOS A GOGO
Janty, along with her team, had full access to all the Gucci archives for this film.
Gaga had the idea of wearing head-to-toe Gucci with a logo on it for an encounter. Patrizia learns that her maid has a Gucci faux handbag. She then goes to New York’s 42nd Street, and berates him.
Lady Gaga, in head-to-toe Gucci-bedecked with a logo in a scene when she criticizes the fake bag seller
Janty says that LG felt and she agreed that she should wear full-on Gucci.
Gucci is featured in the second scene. The star wears Gucci in the logo-print blouse with a leather mini-skirt on the day she gets divorce papers.
3: ALTAR IMAGAGE
Janty was adamant that Janty had spent 8-10 weeks creating her wedding dress with cathedral veil. This was Janty’s most favorite design. A ‘labour for love,’ the lace is meticulously hand-sewn.
With its sweetheart neckline, high-low hem and lace sleeves, it’s not a copy of Patrizia’s floor-length, high-necked gown — although Janty had a replica made.
Janty was incredibly patient and took eight-ten weeks to make the gown with the cathedral veil.
Janty says, “We didn’t make a decision until the last minute.” ‘Her hair and make-up team, her manager, me and my dressers — we all just went: ‘It’s definitely got to be this one.’
4. DRESSED TO KILL
This scene shows Patrizia dressed up to kill in vintage Yves Saint Laurent. Janty rented it from one of the three Italian costume houses Janty used, as well as a vintage mink jacket.
Janty designed the red slingbacks and they were made in Rome by theatre shoemaker Pompei.
Janty says, ‘I had four or five different designs, which we sent to LA and she put one pair on and said: ‘God I love these shoes — have them made in every colour!’
Gaga plays Patrizia in this scene. She is wearing vintage Yves Saint Laurent to make her look bad.
Gaga’s Patrizia is seen in 54 costumes throughout the movie, and never wears any of them.
“She’d come in for a fitting. We did approximately ten fittings. [due to Covid restrictions].
‘She’d come in, we’d discuss the scene, we’d have all our vintage there, she’d say ‘I fancy that one’ and then we would do every single item of jewellery, shoes, bags for that particular scene — and then she would never wear it again.’
5: LADY INSIDE LACE
Gaga’s Patrizia might have been a Joan Collins Dynasty story, but Sir Ridley Scott preferred a more discrete look in the vein of Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian Fifties film siren.
Gaga looks stunning in a white backless lace lace dress while she is at a Gucci Family Gathering
Gucci’s star is wearing a strapless silk lace jacket and dress for an event on Lake Como. It pays tribute to an outfit Lollobrigida wore.
Janty says that LG said that she wanted to look like her Italian mother at the time.
6: IICE MAIDEN
Lady Gaga’s March tweet of this Alpine picture captioned Signore e Signora Gucci’ went viral.
The perfect villainous bride, she was dressed in all black for her trip to the slopes, with the exception of some gold costume jewellery and a white cape made from chinchilla fur.
Adam Driver (as Maurizio Guicci) and Camille Cottin (“Camille Cottin”) were initially meant to wear fur hats too before Lady Gaga banned them.
Gaga, pictured alongside Adam Driver, is dressed in black to ski. Gaga also has a chinchilla fur cap and lashings gold costume jewellery.
Janty says: ‘Madam said: ‘She’s not wearing a fur hat — I’m going to have all the fur hats’.
Gaga, true to form, wore the full lion’s weight of jewelry.
‘She [Patrizia]Janty stated that Janty almost always wore huge earrings, a brooch and two to four bangles. If she had two, it was two necklaces.
‘All the costume jewellery we got from a rental jeweller, Pikkio, in Rome — I cleaned them out!’
7: DANCING FEMALE
Gaga dances in shiny green attire during a scene from the Gucci movie
Janty and her team created the vivid turquoise halterneck dress Gaga’s Patrizia wears to a club scene. This was in response to a 6-month-old baby bump that Gaga was carrying at the time.
8. BLACK WIDOW
It’s no surprise that this image of Lady Gaga was featured in the promotional photos for the movie. Her Patrizia is a fashion sensation with her funeral attire in black from head to toe, except for a bright, white costume jewellery necklace and matching bracelet.
Gaga looks chic in a silk black dress for a funeral scene
Janty states that ‘Dominic Young made three black gowns.
They’re all worn in the film by LG, but this has an unusual neckline.
“He made it from silk, and she loved it. It was perfect for the scene.