[Lady Gaga] | BCALLA

BCALLA, founded in 2011 by designer Brad Callahan, has outfitted numerous stars across stage and screen, including Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Azealia Banks, and RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 winner Aquaria. Pop icon Lady Gaga is also a frequent client—the present coat, obtained from Callahan for backstage wear at her Newcastle show in 2014, is but one example of her patronage of the label.

A broad expanse of influences shape Callahan’s work, from punk and drag, to comics and Jean Paul Gaultier. While many of his pieces lean colorful and campy, the present coat brings a darker depth to his portfolio. Although it has a stripped-down, black and white palette, the content of its hand-drawn designs—surreal and provocative, bordering on the grotesque—assert themselves in their own right.

Throughout each of his creations, Callahan operates with the intention of breaking gendered boundaries in fashion, a subversive act in an industry largely predicated on the binary. Ultimately, Callahan designs with personal expression in mind—a sentiment expectedly shared by Lady Gaga, who gained popularity in the early aughts in part for her iconic and profoundly unique fashion choices.