From the moment she arrived on the music scene, Lady Gaga has been a fashion icon. Whether she’s shocking, provoking or wowing fans with her bold style, the singer/actress/superstar always knows how to make an entrance.
In the past year, Gaga, 32, has received critical acclaim for her role in A Star Is Born, a musical film produced and directed by Bradley Cooper. The star is nominated for an Oscar for her fierce performance as Ally, a struggling singer-songwriter.
Though highly-visible, Gaga is still an enigma to many. Now, in a new PEOPLE profile, her glam squad, aka the Haus of Gaga, headed by Tom Eerebout and Sandra Amador as lead stylists, Sarah Tanno as makeup artist and Frederic Aspiras as hairstylist, deliver the inside scoop on the Lady.
“We are like a family,” Aspiras tells PEOPLE. “It is very sacred, and we are very protective of each other. But we’re also pretty laid-back, and we’re all so humble. In the tough times, we always have each other’s shoulders to cry on. It’s very special.”
The members of Haus of Gaga have been with the star since the beginning. Some former members, like Brandon Maxwell, who launched his own fashion label and Nicola Formichetti, who has headed global fashion houses like Mugler and Diesel, have gone on to find success on their own, yet Gaga remains a friend. Creations from the Haus of Gaga include the "disco stick", "iPod LCD glasses", the "meat dress" worn at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, and the "egg" vessel Gaga arrived in at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
“She’s such a giving human being, that’s why I’ve been with her for so long,” Aspiras says. “It’s more than a professional relationship — she’s a friend. She’s one of the sweetest, dearest friends I’ve ever had.”
The group works so well together that Cooper even cast them as the glam squad to Gaga’s character in A Star Is Born. “It worked so naturally,” Aspiras says. Makeup artist Sarah Tanno adds that the group is “always being on the same wavelength,” which helps them work effectively together since they share a similar aesthetic.
Gaga, who is now preparing to walk down the red carpet at the Academy Awards on February 24, is also beginning a new residency in Las Vegas, where she will undoubtedly amaze fans with new fashions from the Haus of Gaga.
So far this awards season, Gaga has won numerous awards, Best Actress from the National Board of Review, the Dublin Film Critics' Circle and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association, and Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.
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“I’m so proud of her, there are so many things “The Haus” has accomplished and done — it’s nice to know you have people around you that you have known for a long time that you trust and that you believe in and that they believe in you,” Aspiras says.
“We have this long history of this amazing body of work that we’re so proud of,” he adds, “and there’s a lot more to do.”
