Pop stars and flamboyant fashions are inextricably linked: think Cher’s towering Bob Mackie headpiece, Lady Gaga’s meat dress, and more recently, Doja Cat‘s red crystallized couture at Paris Fashion Week.
Doja Cat has built a career on virality. Ever since the release of her satirical track, “Mooo!” she’s continuously captured the social media sphere. Doja Cat’s kinship with internet culture, though, isn’t merely a stage persona, it’s who she is.
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“I don’t think [Doja Cat] ever really overthinks the idea of going viral,” her stylist, Brett Alan Nelson, told WWD. “She is very much this girl of the internet.”
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While breaking the internet isn’t typically Doja Cat’s intention, Nelson and his clients are sure of a good thing when they see it. “We knew when we got the Schiaparelli sketch that it was going to be a crazy viral moment,” Nelson added.
A crazy viral moment it was, spurring countless memes comparing Doja Cat to everything from Haribo candies to blood-soaked tampons.
For Nelson, working with Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry marked the fulfillment of a dream. “Since Daniel took over at Schiaparelli, I’ve been so obsessed with his brain and what he does, and the beautiful art that he brought back to fashion,” Nelson said.
Since joining the label in 2019, Roseberry hasn’t sought to imitate the fashion house’s namesake creator, Elsa Schiaparelli, but rather, embody the surrealist spirit she imbued in her designs. Roseberry’s creations, which include gilded brass masks and gowns adorned with faux animal heads, certainly fit the bill.
Roseberry’s custom design for Doja Cat included a strapless silk bustier and a pencil skirt handsewn with wooden beads, the latter of which was made within 48 hours.
“We got a one-page sketch that had her fully red,” explained Nelson. “Then there was an image on the second page that was like this Greek statue covered in crystals. When [Doja Cat] saw it, she was like ‘Done, let’s go.’”
That’s where legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath comes in. Her and a team of eight assistants spent five hours covering Doja Cat in 30,000 scarlet Swarovski stones.
“The idea to cover Doja Cat in a cascade of crystals was a collaborative effort between Daniel Roseberry and myself,” wrote McGrath via email. “We were all drawn to the concept of a living, breathing work of art — shimmering with each step like a priceless gem.”
Although McGrath has done decades of runway makeup for designers including Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, crafting Doja Cat’s crystallized look posed a unique challenge.
“The most difficult part was ensuring each stone was placed perfectly and held its place, while still allowing Doja freedom of movement,” McGrath explained. “It’s a bit like painting on a canvas that breathes and dances — you have to strike a balance between aesthetics and comfort.”
Despite battling a cold, Doja Cat wasn’t dissuaded from enjoying the painstaking process. McGrath praised her client’s “patient and joyful spirit,” as well as her taste in music. “She DJ’d the entire time and has one of the best playlists I’ve ever heard,” McGrath added.
While Doja Cat, Nelson, McGrath and Roseberry are a team of seasoned professionals, they still felt the pressure to perform. “It was very stressful making sure that this moment was as big as we all wanted it to be,” Nelson said.
As he strutted into Le Petit Palais alongside his ruby muse, Nelson immediately knew that they had succeeded.
“It was a mixture of people’s jaws on the ground, people laughing and people ‘ahhing’ because it was such a spectacle,” he described. “There were a lot of different reactions.”
McGrath called the look’s viral reception “profoundly rewarding.” Her Instagram post featuring Doja Cat’s Schiaparelli ensemble racked up almost 100,000 likes. McGrath credits the stunt’s success not only to its sheer audacity, but to Doja Cat’s vibrant personality.
“It’s a gleaming testament to the power of unabashed expression and the allure of the unexpected,” McGrath said. “I believe that’s what captivated people.”