Gaga acknowledges that her art director, Matthew Williams—“my Jean-Paul Goude”—was “the inspiration that made the connection for me between the art world and the fashion world. He used to say things like ‘If you want to make a shoulder pad, don’t research jackets—research sculpture, mineral rocks, paintings.’ He thinks in a different way; he is the designer of the future.”

GOLDEN SLUMBER
The Sandman (played here by Sasha Cooke, who has appeared in the Met’s production) sprinkles magic dust onto the frightened children, who fall into a deep sleep and dream about a banquet served by a fish maître d’. Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière wool-silk jacket, $2,995; Balenciaga, NYC. Chloé flats. Sandman and fish maître d’ costumes courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Fashion and art collide in Gaga’s work, too. “We’d been thinking of innovative ways to premiere the music,” she says about her decision to debut “Bad Romance” at Alexander McQueen’s Plato’s Atlantis show, which she found “not of this world.” “When Magdalena was stomping her pretty little hooves down the runway,” she says, “it was dreamlike.” Meanwhile her ballad “Speechless” (“about my love for my father”) was first performed in November in Los Angeles at MOCA’s thirtieth-anniversary gala, as part of an installation by Francesco Vezzoli. For this she became, in her words, “a child of the Warhol of my time, among the most famous Pop Artists of our time—Damien Hirst made the piano!”

WICKED
The two discover a house in the forest, only to find it occupied by an old witch (portrayed by Lady Gaga). Gretel looks sweet enough to eat in a poufy confection. But it’s Hansel the evil one wants to fatten up and feast on. On Lady Gaga: Marc Jacobs satin bra ($395), slip silk blouse ( $595), and ruffled bloomer shorts ($995); Marc Jacobs, NYC. On Cole: Yves Saint Laurent embroidered silk poplin dress; YSL boutiques. Lady Gaga’s wig created by Julien D’Ys.