Why Antonio Berardi turned down Lady Gaga to design her fashion label

[lucy92]

I think what Berardi is trying to say that he's already built up an impressive body of work on his own he doesnt need to ghost-design someone else's collection.

 

[Spike413]

poor guy ...
definitely seeking publicity ...

it's not even him not wanting to be Lady Gaga's line designer ...
it's him telling about it ...
with Nicola Formichetti and more of his gang around her, I'm sure Gaga contacted more than just one designer to help her launch a line ...

and saying that Lady Gaga is meaningless, so you don't want yr name to be associated with, when you're friend with unvoiced, untalented Ms Beckham ....... is a bit .......
weird !

Thank god someone said it before this became another "Why Lady Gaga sucks" thread. Somtimes I think people are so eager to hate on her for her perceived crimes against humanity that they'll overlook something like this where Berardi comes off as nothing more than an opportunistic hypocrite.

CLEARLY the man can't be too worried about his image or prestige with the list of clients that were mentioned, since none of them except Gwyneth Paltrow could be called A-List or meaningful by any stretch of the imagination. His going public with this seems more desperate than any amount of attention grabbing showmanship or crazy costuming on Lady Gaga's part ever could. I know how trendy it is to hate any and all things Lady Gaga, but calling her meaningless is just silly, especially coming from a second-tier talent like Berardi. First he needs to become relevant, then he can judge others.

And I have a feeling that if people were being unbiased, Berardi would be the one getting a lot of the flack for this particular bit of gossip. When was the last time bitchiness was a virtue worth defending?

 

[Scott]

well calling her music meaningless is by no means a shocking statement to make....you can listen to it and realise it doesn't exactly have a lot of substance.

secondly,i don't agree with this snarky second-tier talent comment....just because antonio no longer has the limelight like mcqueen or chalayan and has scaled his label back a bit doesn't make one irrelevant. and it certainly doesn't mean he's not allowed to have his opinion about somebody who approached him. and calling him a hypocrite because of his client-list is rather silly too given many who aren't exactly lovers of the pop culture mainstream still have those types of clients. you can't stop people from buying and wearing your work. they are only just that...clients. and he's certainly not ghost-designing for them on collections they do nor do i believe he's slaving to them like a pathetic child.

and i am not "hating" gaga for the sake of it. i just have very strong feelings about what she's about and what people are deeming her to be. what i get annoyed by is all of this nonsense about what she's doing is revolutionary. and it's not. and this all-mighty,look down your nose,pretentious attitude she always exudes in interviews and such. look she's just a pop singer...an entertainer....and i just think all of this holding her up in this light like what she's doing is changing the face of music....it's rubbish to me.

and berlin,i mention bjork and the like because quite honestly,this is the manner in which people are equating her to. like what she does is as innovative as what bjork does. that's all. so before you kill me....

 

[Leeroi]

secondly,i don't agree with this snarky second-tier talent comment....just because antonio no longer has the limelight like mcqueen or chalayan and has scaled his label back a bit doesn't make one irrelevant. and it certainly doesn't mean he's not allowed to have his opinion about somebody who approached him. and calling him a hypocrite because of his client-list is rather silly too given many who aren't exactly lovers of the pop culture mainstream still have those types of clients. you can't stop people from buying and wearing your work. they are only just that...clients. and he's certainly not ghost-designing for them on collections they do nor do i believe he's slaving to them like a pathetic child.

I think the problem with him is the fact that he never really was that big of a mover and a shaker in the fashion industry. He was always riding the coat tails of McQueen and Chalayan and always depended on the fact that he graduated from Saint Martins instead of allowing his creativity to speak for itself.

And the difference between other designers who aren't particularly fascinated with mainstream celebrities and Antonio Berardi is the fact that he felt so compelled to make it publicly known that he has a strong dislike for Lady Gaga's meaningless work. And it is justifiable that people are calling him hypocritical based on his clientele because it says "Berardi's approach to celebrity mirrors his own slow and considered design aesthetic" so there's some sort of discrepancy between his own personal beliefs of designing and him totally enthralled with Beckham. And him saying "Her music is meaningless now so what impact will it have in 20 years?" can also be asked of him, what is he going to be remembered by within 20 years? I have no fond memory of his work and has always been in the background of more talented designers.

Some designers just need to temper their over confidence, seriously. They are no better than the people wearing their clothes, and sometimes they're even less than the people wearing their clothes especially the ones with cocky attitudes who probably will be forgotten with a few decades.

This interview obviously had no direction and was simply a waste of space in the gossip columns since it only proved his dislike for Lady Gaga and not show case any of his supposed talents as a designer.

 

[VogueParisLover]

There's some irony in him refusing Lady Gaga on grounds of meaningfulness and longevity and yet being happy to have Megan Fox as a client...

I agree.

 

[Veronika C]

I knew Antonio in the mid-1990's. He is really nice and caring about people starting out. I don't think he was insulting her personally, he was just saying her music isn't like Lennon's "Imagine" etc. And I don't think he's wrong. I think her music is fun and good. I think what he means is he doesn't need the music, experiance etc unless it is something so unique or big almost no one could say no. And being a codesigner with her isn't that. He's paid his dues. I also think having someone wearing your clothes vs someone being your business partner and having a say in how you design them are two totally different things.

Anyone is allowed to wear is clothes or ask to borrow them. Lady GaGa included. You cannot compare the two.

I think this interview can be taken a bit out of context. I don't think he was insulting to Lady GaGa. I think both Antonio and GaGa are great. I understand while people are mad at his words. But I also think that it isn't about Antonio wanting to be remembered in twenty years or a cocky attitude. I has more to do with where he is in his design career and saying why he isn't doing it. Unfortunately, it comes across as not being nice.

True, Lady GaGa and Antonio may not be around in twenty years. But neither of them really need each other. She admired his designs/work or she wouldn't have asked him. It never hurts to ask. And for him, unless it is a major job that in 20 years will be remembered why would he do it? Again, it has less to do with her or the job, then it does where he is now and what he has done before. I wish them both well.

 

[duprex]

At least Megan Fox knows her work sucks and since when did answering a question honestly become a plea for publicity?
Antonia has the right to refuse whoever he wants as far as I'm concerned.

 

[retailqueen]

so the guy is being berated because he has an opinion other than Gaga is the awesomest most originalest person in the world??? whatever.
he has a right to an opinion and to express. the media/fans can not make everyone like her.

 

[jellslove]

There's some irony in him refusing Lady Gaga on grounds of meaningfulness and longevity and yet being happy to have Megan Fox as a client...

My thoughts EXACTLY!

 

[Bidwell]

I am not a great fan of either "artists" but I am disappointed in Mr. Berardi. He should have retained a bit of class, however much he sorely lacks it. It shows he hasn't much scruples for business or diplomacy and comes across as a twat.

 

[Crying Diamonds]

I can't imagine the title "Creative Director of the Haus of Gaga" is a particularly covetable title.
Gaga can kill clothes. I remember being gutted when Bruno Pieters advertised the fact that she'd worn a suit by him for a television interview - he needs to promote wearability of his items and so do other designers - when she wears them she just makes them utterly unwearable.
I can't imagine there's a queue of people dying to look like Gaga.
And, because of this, I'm surprised she's opening a "Haus".

 

[Scott]

but leeroi,you missed my point.....she approached him....not the other way round. and if he's such a hypocrite then maybe all creatives who have a business and have creative principles should just shut the hell up and slave to them anyway just because they dress differently. but no because if he had done that,others would call him a sell-out. just because somebody has an uncompromising perspective when it comes to "creative" endeavours doesn't mean they're hypocrites. buying and wearing what a designer does is totally different than she or any other being part of the actual process.

 

[Leeroi]

but leeroi,you missed my point.....she approached him....not the other way round. and if he's such a hypocrite then maybe all creatives who have a business and have creative principles should just shut the hell up and slave to them anyway just because they dress differently. but no because if he had done that,others would call him a sell-out. just because somebody has an uncompromising perspective when it comes to "creative" endeavours doesn't mean they're hypocrites. buying and wearing what a designer does is totally different than she or any other being part of the actual process.

I think the problem with what he says:
"I was approached to design a clothing range with Lady Gaga but I knocked it back because I wasn't interested in someone whose music is meaningless."

He obviously implied that he wouldn't have a problem designing for someone if it meant they had meaningful music. So if someone like Whitney Houston approached him, would he have accepted? Or Megan Fox? Or Victoria Beckham? He obviously has no problem having those two names beside his. There's a difference when a designer says "I didn't want to do business with her because we have different aesthetics when it comes to design" than saying someone's work is completely useless so I don't want to do business with her. There's a clear tone of arrogance and heavy dislike and utter classlessness in his words. He deserves every bit of criticism he is receiving because not even the most successful of designers would even stoop that low to completely call someone's work to be insignificant in defense of them not working together. I guess design school didn't teach him how to be more respectful with his words.

And what exactly is the aesthetic is he trying to defend that mirrors his approach celebrities? The article immediately turns to him talking about underpinnings, nude colors, and lingerie wear which none of which had anything to do with his Lady Gaga comment. Total randomness.

 

[lucy92]

if it were Alexander Mcqueen that revealed that he was approached by Lady Gaga to ghost-design her line would anyone be offended? i don't think so.

Mcqueen discusses to the fact that he has turned down H&M and Topshop to design collection in interviews. he is just being honest.

why can't Antonio Berardi be honest as well?

 

[Leeroi]

if it were Alexander Mcqueen that revealed that he was approached by Lady Gaga to ghost-design her line would anyone be offended? i don't think so.

Mcqueen discusses to the fact that he has turned down H&M and Topshop to design collection in interviews. he is just being honest.

why can't Antonio Berardi be honest as well?

Except I don't think McQueen has ever called H&M and Topshop as "meaningless". And if he did, it would have been more perfectly suited since both are strictly about clothes and design aesthetic. As oppose to Berardi's comment on Lady Gaga's music as meaningless and will be irrelevant.

It would have been more acceptable if Berardi bashed her outfits and personal style regarding him not working with her; instead he defended such decision by calling someone else's work meaningless.

I'm sorry, I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan, but even if my body of work had no personal meaning to you, calling it meaningless is completely ridiculous especially when your body of work is also not considered the most relevant if at all in your own profession.

Also, I don't think Berardi has heard Speechless yet.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

i dont think he is being attacked for not liking her music or style, its just that calling someones work meaningless is an insult.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

Except I don't think McQueen has ever called H&M and Topshop as "meaningless". And if he did, it would have been more perfectly suited since both are strictly about clothes and design aesthetic. As oppose to Berardi's comment on Lady Gaga's music as meaningless and will be irrelevant.

It would have been more acceptable if Berardi bashed her outfits and personal style regarding him not working with her; instead he defended such decision by calling someone else's work meaningless.

I'm sorry, I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan, but even if my body of work had no personal meaning to you, calling it meaningless is completely ridiculous especially when your body of work is also not considered the most relevant if at all in your own profession.



Also, I don't think Berardi has heard Speechless yet.

i agree 100 percent....

 

[lucy92]

Except I don't think McQueen has ever called H&M and Topshop as "meaningless". And if he did, it would have been more perfectly suited since both are strictly about clothes and design aesthetic.

McQueen referred to topshop as "chopshop" last year.
berardi had another interview in grazia today....

"And here’s what Mr Berardi had to say “Press coverage has appeared recently about comments I supposedly made about Lady Gaga. I have been seriously misquoted in these comments.”

Talking about Lady G’s Pokerface video, Berardi says “I am always thrilled when anyone chooses to wear my clothes and I thought that Lady Gaga looked amazing in her video wearing my parachute dress. “

The designer does admit “whilst musically I am more of a Black Angels man, I have a huge amount of respect for Lady Gaga and everything she has achieved.”

And as for that clothing collaboration, the designer says the real problem was their conflicting work schedules “creating a fashion collection is a lot of work and I was unable to collaborate with Lady Gaga on a collection because of commitments to my own label and for no other reason. It amazes me that a mistaken quote can travel so quickly on-line, cause so much damage and be so utterly wrong.”

 

[chessmess]

well,i think it's hilarious that she somehow thinks she's some sort of messiah for ideas and expression. the way she looks and speaks to people with such arrogance and pretension like she's a real artist. no darling,you make radio-friendly pop songs,you're not bjork. therein lies the lack of meaning he speaks about. and i am willing to bet,too,such as her so-called 'original' style at the moment thanks to stylist and editor nicola formichetti,most of her ideas are in fact dictated by other people. it's all facade.

she really isnt like that anymore though. she was, i agree, very pretentious and conniving at the start of her career. but ever since the fame monster and her recent high fashion explosion she has really turned into a more modest woman. she has inspirations just like the rest of us and just because they manifest them into radio-friendly pop songs doesnt mean they are any less important or meaningful.
i find gaga a very interesting woman because i truly believe that she isnt a demon of fame, i think she critiquing it, americas lust for the next big thing and for celebrity stardom.

 

[chessmess]

also, there is a difference between dressing a designer and helping one design a line. actresses liek megan fox lend themselves to his clothes because of their bombshell body. designing a line with her would be a different story.