The jewels worn by Lady Gaga in the House of Gucci

By Kim Parker

From her power perm to her opulent costumes and yes, even her extravagant accent, Lady Gaga has been serving up some seriously extra looks in the trailer for Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated new film, House of Gucci, which is released on November 26.

The film is based on a 2002 book by Sarah Gay Forden – who covered the Italian fashion industry for over 15 years – and revolves around the real-life crime drama that unfolded between Patrizia Reggiani (played by Gaga) and her husband, Maurizio Gucci (played by Adam Driver), the former head of the Gucci fashion house. Reggiani was implicated in her husband’s murder in 1995.

As befits a film set in Italy between the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, and that also happens to revolve around one of the world’s most high-profile fashion brands, the costumes are suitably flamboyant. The Oscar-winning British costume designer, Janty Yates (a long-time collaborator of Scott’s), spent six weeks researching outfits during lockdown before filming began in Rome. She was given full access to Gucci’s archives, and mixed heritage pieces with vintage items to achieve an authentically outré look for the cast – especially for Lady Gaga. “Patrizia was quite extreme in her look, but more with the jewels. She’d wear two or three necklaces… she’d have something possibly in her hair. She’d be Christmas tree-d up,” the designer told Vogue.

When it came to finding the right kind of jewellery to bedeck Gaga, Yates didn’t have to look far for inspiration. The house of Bulgari has been synonymous with the glamour of the Eternal City for over a century (indeed, its boutique on Via Condotti has been there since 1905) and its exuberant jewels have adorned the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn.

During one of the trailer’s major moments, a bouffant-sporting Gaga can be observed telling her husband “It’s time to take out the trash!” whilst clad in a shimmering metallic dress and ornate collar necklace. The piece is one of Bulgari’s most iconic heritage jewels, originally created in 1991 for Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and crafted from gold, amethysts, citrines, pink tourmalines, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. And because in Italy more is more, Gaga is also wearing amethyst, citrine and emerald earrings, plus two gold ‘Turbogas’ bracelets from the 1970s, which were inspired by the design of gas pipes.

For another scene, Gaga dances up against Driver wearing a dazzling ruby necklace and earrings that match her scarlet V-neck party dress to perfection. The parure is actually part of Bulgari’s latest Magnifica high jewellery collection – the necklace alone contains 11 oval-cut rubies, plus 77 round, brilliant-cut diamonds and pavé diamonds, set in polished platinum. Gaga’s matching earrings hold two further oval-cut rubies, two more round brilliants and a sprinkling of pavé diamonds.

Of the scope of Gaga’s amazing outfits, Yates has told interviewers: “She had 54 shooting days with 54 different looks. And we didn’t repeat a single item, not even an earring.” If all of the fabulous pomp and splendour of the trailer is anything to go by, fashion and jewellery lovers alike are in for a visual feast when House of Gucci finally lands in theatres later this week.

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