Breaking Down Lady Gaga's Iconic Transformations In House of Gucci
Lady Gaga was completely transformed in her latest movie, House of Gucci (2021), where she played the role of Patrizia Reggiani. The masterminds behind her transformation were makeup artist Sarah Tanno and hair stylist Frederic Aspiras.
Gaga’s glam team had to totally transform her from decade to decade as Reggiani’s life progressed throughout the film. Her looks encompassed the gaudy and glam that was Patrizia Reggiani. The big hair and dark eye looks really encapsulated her look and brought the character to life.
Sarah Tanno stated that in order to really gain perspective into her character they had to pay attention to every single detail of Reggiani’s features. “We really wanted to treat it as documentary as possible, studying the way she moves, the way she talks, the way she lined her lips, the way she colored her hair—all these little nuances that were very specific to Patrizia as a woman,” she says.
In order to achieve their vision, Tanno and Aspiras spent hours upon hours researching and creating a 500-page index that they plastered to the walls of Gaga’s trailer. The mood boards were used as a constant guide throughout the shooting of the movie.
The ‘70s:
Starting with the 1970s, Gaga’s glam team struggled to find inspiration due to the fact that there were not many photographs of Reggiani prior to her wedding day to go off of. Due to this, they pulled inspiration from Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida. The look they came up with featured Gaga in dark brown hair worn with retro waves that were popular during this time. As for her makeup look, her they went for a soft complexion and graphic cat eyes to add drama and dimension.
One of the most iconic looks from the movie was her wedding day look. Her makeup was a subtle double-winged eye, Sophia Loren was the inspiration for this look. It is all about elongating the eye.
The ‘80s:
As the years progressed into the 1980s, so did Reggiani’s look. Known for her dramatics, she embraced her big hair and popular beauty trends such as frosty lips and vivid blush. For this look, Tanno created a smudged eyeliner look and brought the blush up higher on her cheeks, all the way up to the temples, using bright shades that pop against Gaga’s skin tone. For the lips, they pulled references from Patrizia’s iconic dark liner and frosty lipstick. As for her hair, Aspiras explains that Reggiani really grasped onto the trends of the time stating that her hair was permed “high-to-the-heavens.”
The ‘90s:
In the 1990s came Reggiani’s downfall. Not only does she start to lose everything in her life that she loves, but she also begins to lose her mind as well. Tanno describes Raggiani’s look from this particular era as “unhinged.” Her lipliner was extremely sharp and defended. Her mascara was thick, dark, and clumpy, almost as if she went days without removing her makeup and just kept applying more overtop. You can see her slowly start to dwindle down to a powerless nothing.
These transformations would be nothing without the work of Sarah Tannos, Frederic Aspiras, and of course, the stunning Lady Gaga. Decade to decade, the story of Patrizia Reggiani’s ultimate decline is told throughout each look. The best word to describe the work of everyone involved in these transformations is iconic.
What were some of your favorite looks from House of Gucci? Leave a comment below.