Lady Gaga has a team of people helping her come up with outlandish outfits and themes, many of which have been called derivative of earlier artists like Grace Jones, David Bowie, Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Freddie Mercury. Several of Gaga’s iconic outfits have been “inspired” by fashion designers and artists, including her bubble outfit and meat dress. Gaga herself admits that she gets inspiration from other artists but claims she’s “always been an outspoken and extreme dresser” although old footage and photos suggest otherwise. According to the National Enquirer, Gaga wants to kick up her fashion credentials a notch by becoming a bona fide fashion professor. Gaga, who dropped out of college at 19, has applied for an adjunct professor position at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.
“Lady Gaga is planning a radical career shift after she wraps up her Monster Ball tour next spring,” divulged an insider. “She wants to use her famous fashion sense and avant-garde art obsession to launch an academic career.”
Gaga has applied for a position as an adjunct professor at the prestigious Parsons School for Design.
“She’s pitched herself for an artist-in-residence position,” continued the insider. “Nothing has been finalized yet, but she’d like to teach in the fashion-design program for a semester or more.
“Gaga wants to incorporate elements of music study, popular culture and media studies”
The Grammy-winning New York City native – who dropped out of New York University’s respected Tisch School of the Arts at age 19 to pursue a music career – is well-known for her outlandish attire…
Despite her offbeat image, the insider insists that when she is not performing, Gaga is a “traditional family girl” who is looking forward to having a steady job near her loved ones after years of nonstop traveling and touring.
“She thinks teaching a college course would be a great way to decompress from the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, boost her image and make people take her seriously,” said the insider.
“She wants to be more than just a flamboyant pop star.”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 20, 2010]
She must think that helping other designers come up with outfits qualifies her to teach. Maybe Gaga should take a page from James Franco’s book and actually finish college first before she tries to become a professor. She doesn’t even have an undergraduate degree, and most professorships in that field require at least an MFA. She has the money and the time to actually take courses from other people in the field first before she tries to teach. She can be a professor once she gets the background and knowledge required of teachers at that level. Sure she has real world experience, but to me this is just another example of a celebrity who wants everything handed to them based on name, not merit.
Look at Gaga lately (below) she’s even dressing the part.
when are her 15 minutes going to be up
I like her music and she’s probably a good entertainer in the moment but her fashion is pure outrageousness, nothing more and that never last beyond the 24 hr. buzz cycle.
If she ever manages to attain a position poisoning the ripe minds of fashion students, the world will be an even scarier place than it already is.
One of her is quite enough.
oh this annoys me so much. i’ve spent a lot of time and money on an MA and phd in theatre, so that i can be a lecturer, i wouldn’t like say, ellen page to come in and take my job just because she’s a professional actress! wearing freaky clothes does not qualify you as a fashion professor.
It’s FASHION SCHOOL, not a Neurobiology program!! So she teaches one class for one semester. So what? Do these same rules apply to non-famous people, too? Does that mean that a bestselling author who lacks a doctorate is disqualified from teaching one semester of a writing course somewhere? Personally, I’d rather be taught by someone who actually *lives* by what they espouse, rather than by someone who’s read a bunch of books and attended a crapton of lectures on the subject.
I see no reason why she isn’t qualified. Besides, I’d be willing to bet that the freshman at places like Pratt and Parsons don’t have to slog through expository essays and multiple choice exams like most undergrads, anyway. Not only did most of them attend fancy NYC prep schools (just like Gaga), but they’re probably too busy attending lectures on the history of the button or whatever to think about obtaining a “normal” education.
I love her music, but this is such a joke. It would piss me off to see her get it over someone who has worked their ass off to get their degree.
She’s trying and failing to be be ‘more than a flamboyant pop star’. You are the epitome of pretentious, flamboyant pop star!
Is she STILL around?
What the fuck.
She hasn’t a qualification for that. I don’t care if she’s a big star and has a lot of money she doesn’t deserve that position.
You want it that bad? Then go back to study!
And, yeah, she doen’t do her dresses, she only wear them. So what the hell of a fashionista is she?
i still love those sunglasses!
Note to Gaga, love ya, but if you want an “academic career” here’s an idea: get a damn degree first! There’s way more to it than coming up with crazy, ugly outfits that nobody will wear.
Ha! Her knees ….so funny looks like she’s taken a tumble or two in those shoes of hers !!
This is actually not that unusual. She wouldn’t qualify as a “professor” so to speak, but an artist-in-residence. The college where I was on faculty for many years had a guy teaching dance and running the dance program that did not have academic qualifications. However, he did have 40+ years of experience running the major ballet company of his native country and was known throughout the dance world by name. He wasn’t a traditional “professor” in title, but he performed the function of one, and did an amazing job.
Note, however, that I’m not saying Lady G would do an amazing or even good job, just that it’s not unusual for something like this to happen.
@GeekChick – I agree, but think she needs to have more experience (if you can even count what she does as “experience”). How long has she even been on the scene for, 2 years?
First of all, her stylists come up with that stuff, not her. Second, as someone who has graduated from fashion school and been in the insdustry for 15 years, it’s a lot harder than one would think to produce garments and just because she can come up with outlandish COSTUMES, not salable apparel, doesn’t qualify her for that job.
She’s hideous.
Well, that’s one school that will lose all credibility if they go along with this ego tripping nonsense.
Again: it’s PARSONS, not HARVARD. Not saying that textile design isn’t difficult, but she’s not exactly going to be imparting *crucial* wisdom to the youth of America. We’re talking about CLOTHES. Who cares?! I still stand by opinion that those schools are crammed full of spoiled brats who generally pay more attention to Vogue than they ever will the Norton Anthology, anyhow. Ask the student body how *they* feel. Ask the faculty. I highly doubt anyone cares — and, in fact, I’d be willing to bet that the entire Parsons faculty and student body would spend the whole semester kissing Gaga’s ass if she were to actually teach there.
I attended a college with a pretty thriving arts scene, and virtually EVERY guest dancer or painter was a person who *maaaaybe* taught for a living, but was more likely to actually work, do, and practice their art. NONE of them had doctorates, and many of them performed in those big NYC dance companies or had shows in big galleries. They were just as qualified to work alongside the other faculty members, and their students adored them and valued their expertise.
Besides, slogging through several years of academia does NOT automatically make you a gifted instructor once you finally have that PhD, sorry. At the very least, Gaga would be entertaining as hell.
And she DOES have a design team. EVERY pop star does. You all would too, if you were rich and famous!
Not like this is a fulltime job for regular professors, anyway.
I like some of her songs. She can make peoples feet move. In addition to that she dresses like an idiot to draw attention to herself.
And thats it.
She is NOT a professor.
She is NOT a fashion icon (seriously, who emulates her style, besides for Halloween and gay / or bad taste parties)
Most importantly:
SHE IS NOT A POLITICIAN.
seriously, what has she got to say, besides equality is cool? (I could have said that, too)
What a joke to try to get into all these fields she has NO F–CKING CLUE about.
Just because she´s famous doesnt mean she could teach me or speak for me.
Ridiculous!
When has she ever tried to be a politician? I keep up on pop culture (to a pathetic degree), and I’ve never heard any rumblings about her running for office.
I get so sick of people claiming that celebrities should keep their politics to themselves. Why? Do you keep yours to yourself? The moderator of this blog doesn’t, either, and I’m glad. EVERYONE should be outspoken and interested in the world. There are issues today that affect *all* of humanity, famous or not.
I honestly think Gaga’s outspoken stance against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is completely awesome, for instance. And, sorry, you can say that “equality is cool”, but Gaga can deliver that statement in a more interesting way and reach millions more people.
And considering how many B.S. ~Honorary Degrees~ colleges present each year to vapid celebrity tools who have have deigned to give measly ten-minute commencement speeches or whatever, NO one should truly be surprised about Gaga teaching somewhere. Academia looooves fame.
god no!!if that happens fashion world is doomed…
When she can sew a seam, use a surger, id a vintage Chanel from Balanciga, then MAYBE
Um, Ernestine, Parsons is kind of the Harvard of art schools. You seem to know a fair amount about it, but I think you’re downplaying the prestige of Parsons to make your point. You have to be very talented and determined not only to get in, but to make it at Parsons, like Pratt and any other established NYC art school. They may not be studying neurobiology, but I can guarantee if you took the world’s leading neurosurgeon and stuck him into History of Bauhaus Design, that doctor wouldn’t have the slightest clue what’s going on. I can’t stand when people put down art schools like it’s a walk in the park, like all we do is color in coloring books and make pretty paper dolls for homework. As a designer (print/graphic) in training myself, I would point out that in most areas of study, right and wrong are clear cut. What works and what doesn’t is objective. It’s yes or no. But if you’re studying fine or applied arts, it’s not so black and white. The art world is much, much more subjective and muddy when it comes to whether or not you’ll succeed, and I would say that’s a lot more difficult that KNOWING without a shadow of a doubt that you passed the BAR exam and can practice law in your state.
Now that THAT’S out of the way, Gaga shouldn’t be teaching as an adjunct professor. I’m sure they could have her teach workshops or give lectures, and I think that would work out better than having her teach an actual class. If she excels at the workshops, then give her a 1 or 2 credit class. You can’t just throw someone in there are go “TEACH.” I don’t think having her as a resource is a bad idea, at all, but come on. Baby steps.
First off this is probable a made up story it does come from the The National Enquirer which should tell how true this story really is. Lady Gaga has been dressing this why even before she became famous when she dropout of college and was working as a gogo dancer in New York. Gaga comes from a very wealthy family and she got a record deal on her own so why would she start using her name now.
I don’t care if it’s Harvard or the local community college, being “outspoken and [an] extreme dresser” does not make you a fashion expert nor qualify you for the position of adjunct professor. I know adjunct business and health care professors who teach for online and traditional schools. You know how they got their job?: With decades of experience within their fields, hard earned degrees (it’s like the freaking alphabet after their names), organizational affiliations, and glowing work experience. Having three or so years of professional work experience, being super-duper popular, and having a track record of presenting other people’s hard work is not a qualification. The people who style or design Gaga’s outfits are the ones that should be submitting an application.
Especially in this job market, the person who is hired for that position should be someone who has earned an academic degree, an honorary degree (which is earned through exceptional and extended years of hard work within a field), or extensive period of professional work within a field–not a someone with entitlement issues. The person chosen should be someone whose knowledge, experience, expertise, and creativity deserve compensation, prestige, and respect.
Ernestine –> Gaga zealot. Please, ban them. We do not want to hear to their BS
“Please, ban them. We do not want to hear to their BS”
LOL! Bless your heart, Hushe.
“The art world is much, much more subjective and muddy when it comes to whether or not you’ll succeed, and I would say that’s a lot more difficult that KNOWING without a shadow of a doubt that you passed the BAR exam and can practice law in your state.”
You know what? You’re right. I know artists who work ten times harder than any lawyer I’ve ever known. And I’m not discounting art schools, per se, but I ALSO think that there are ways to obtain genuine, interesting, *teachable* life experiences that don’t involve slapping degree on top of degree — particularly in aesthetic fields like writing, acting, sculpting, painting, costume design, etc.
I think both Parsons and Harvard are probably also alike in that each institution probably regards itself as being The Most Important School Ever — which is partly why I think this whole story is a bunch of hearsay/nonsense. I don’t think Parsons would risk their reputation on a pop star — particularly one who’s only 23.
It’s fun to watch you all get riled up, however.
Oh, I so much missed the Gaga.
Listen, if Victoria Beckham, genius that she is, can peddle her frocks, Lady Gaga can teach fashion. She has always been in tune with the artist and fashion community, and she still is. She is smart and savvy and I sure as hell would attend her class.
Since when did Celebitchy become an intellectual snob blog?.
BTW, I have a BS in Pharmacy, a JD, and am working on a Master’s in Library Science. I also was a prof myself-teaching Pharmacy Law to Doctor of Pharmacy students, and I’m not looking down my nose at Lady Gaga.
Perhaps the Celebitchy staff should submit their own resumes before pitching the proverbial stones at Lady Gaga.
Great comments all. Ernestine to your point about celebs and politics – here’s a rough analogy. When I hire a plumber to fix my toilet I don’t want him yakking about politics and not doing what I’m paying him to do. No one interviews plumbers, electricians, dry wallers, beat cops, etc. about DADT or immigration, why should celebs be favored – we know why in our celeb obsessed world. Furthermore, all of today’s issues have been massively researched, studied, written and debate about before celebs came to them. Does anyone really think Gaga has anything insightful to say on the complexities of immigration – where does she get her opinions and has she read even one researched and scholarly work on the complex subject, when celebs go public they mostly talk off the top of their head, or repeat talking points their pr/handlers provide them. Do you really believe Gaga has spent anytime actually studying such issues as immigration. Hardly, I’m liberal and I wouldn’t waste my time with Gaga “politics” and neither should you – she needs to make better music than this recycled electronic 80s/90s dance pop crap.
MissD’banville:
“Ha! Her knees ….so funny looks like she’s taken a tumble or two in those shoes of hers !!”
No kidding! I can rarely find an image of her in those darn shoes (the variety of them) where she *isn’t* holding onto at least one other person’s arm to walk. Seriously? If you can’t walk in them, don’t wear them; it just looks stupid otherwise.
I say this as a fan of Lady Gaga, too. :o/
Jover, the key word in your response is “hire.” If you HIRE a person to do a task, you have a certain amount of control over where the conversation may lead. If *you’re* the boss, you don’t have to discuss politics unless you have the desire to do so.
So, unless you’re paying Gaga to sing at your kid’s b-day party (and judging from your disregard for her music, I doubt that’s ever going to happen), you’re never going to be in the position to hire her. Ever. Therefore, she can basically flap her piehole about whatever she wants, whenever she wants, for as long as she wants. Sorry.
But guess what? You can *always* ignore her. 😉
Ernestine my analogy does hold because when you pay to see her or anyone in concert and they yak about politics, you’re not paying to listen to their politics. More importantly, by using the dismissive phrase “flapping her piehole” you actually undercut any reason to even bother with her. I can go to any bar or listen to talk radio and hear people flapping their piehole, don’t you want to listen to people talk about a subject having some knowledge of what they speak of. Remember, celebs believe their opinions are so much more profound than we ordinary folk, but if all they are doing is just “flapping their pieholes” why bother with them. This isn’t about free speech at all you’re missing my point. On the one hand you are defending celebs “right” to yak about politics, but on the other hand you are dismissing it as nothing more than flapping one’s piehole; if that is all it is, what’s the point, stick to music Gaga. btw, i have somewhat of a science background where actual knowledge of a subject is a prerequisite for speaking on it in a serious manner, so I’m implicitly introducing a standard not present in public policy debates.
The funny thing is she copies (especially when she first hit the scene) most of her ‘looks’ from other people, and specifically from an Irish singer named Roisin Murphy. Check out this video: http://popdirt.com/is-lady-gaga-copying-roisin-murphys-persona/70210/
It’s hard to respect someone who talks about how ground-breaking they are after you see that they are really just a copy of someone else.
“It’s fun to watch you all get riled up, however.”
Who’s riled up? Because if my memory serves me, my post was very fair and calmly laid out. I’m sure you must be confusing me with another poster.
It’s just a lark for her and it’s design school, for pete’s sake. Design is based on craziness to begin with. As usual, the publicity is working for her already on this.
I like the idea of her doing some day job in NY and maturing a bit for awhile. Fine cheese takes years to properly mature.
why is she famous?
Jover — your analogy still doesn’t make any sense. But we can agree to disagree. Personally, most of my favorite musicians are somewhat political in nature — I’m thinking specifically of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, The Stones, etc — but if you want to listen to flowery music that only skims the surface of the human experience and doesn’t question social norms and authority, than knock yourself out.
KJ — the phrase “you all” indicates plurality. It does not refer specifically to your post alone — a post which *was* calm in tone and well-reasoned, which is why I took the time to respond to it the first place.
Since when does she know anything about fashion? I still remember last year at the music awards when she came onstage looking like Tinkerbell in outer space.
Have any of you heard of the Monarch theroy? In regards to brain control?
You mean Monarch Programming? I have heard of it, and it’s…out there. The people who believe in MP are the same people who are convinced that Gaga is currently the Illuminati Queen and that we’re all her unwitting minions.
thanks ernestine for the response but correct me if i’m wrong led zeppelin never did an explicitly political song in their career and I wouldn’t exactly describe them as flowering music. You don’t have to be political at all to be great and moving, and zep will be listened to long after gaga and many of today’s “stars” are in the trash bin. Btw, does questioning authority also extend to questioning Obama’s policies?
With the difficulity of actually being accepted to Parsons, I would be pretty pissed off if one of my fashion professors ended up being a derivative hack like Lady Gaga.
Jover — bad example, dude. You could regard a tune like “When the Levee Breaks” as a protest song, for one example. They were more than just four Brits who loved the blues. Led Zeppelin were highly political in that they were anti-authority and flaunted their ability to live large, and largely lawLESS. They sang openly about sex, drugs, large amounts of liquor, and the freedom to imbibe in all of those things.
And questioning authority certainly means the right to question the President and his decisions. Here in America, we’re still *kinda* free to express our opinions, after all.
Oh for crap’s sake, Gaga went to my alma mater, Tisch?
Her sister Natali is a freshman at Parsons. As Lainey says, “Conspiracy or coincidence?”
madonna did this look already. copy copy copy cat.
Ernestine – if artists want to have political songs I say more power to them, but there’s a difference in groovin to a tune and listening to someone give a lecture at a concert.
she looks like a rip off of bjork right here. she needs to stop dressing like she makes good electronic music. she makes crap.