Manhattan's Upper East Side was brought to a standstill on Wednesday (23 November) as Lady GaGa arrived at Barneys on Madison Avenue to officially open her pop-up workshop. The up-market department store has teamed up with the Born This Way star to produce a very special retail experience for its festive customers.
According to the UK's Daily Telegraph, the superstar turned up to cut a giant ribbon and open the workshop, which plans to sell hundreds of one-off limited edition products inspired by the pop star. The shop has been created by Gaga's creative director Nicola Formichetti and visual performance artists Eli Sudbrack and Christophe Hamaide Pierson. The 5,500 square foot space features eight stations that sell everything from dress-up sets, Gaga masks and traditional festive gifts such as snow globes - a portion of sales will go towards the singer's Born This Way foundation, which focuses on youth empowerment, bullying, well-being and self-confidence. Meanwhile, the pop star has also co-designed Barneys four Christmas windows, one of which is made entirely of hair. The creations were revealed to shoppers shortly after midnight on Monday (21 November 2011), with the store's creative director Dennis Freedman telling the New York Daily News, "The hair window is an extraordinary one.Basically, Gaga and Nicola had a dream of making her boudoir, with her in it, and every single thing in the window had to be made out of hair".
The workshop will be open until January 2, 2011. Meanwhile, the singer releases her festive EP 'A Very Gaga Holiday' this week, featuring a rendition of holiday classic 'White Christmas'.