The Making of V: Aaron de Mey (V99)

On Gaga as editrix and Inez lookalike.

V Magazine 121 is on newsstands now. To order a copy click here, and sign up for our newsletter for exclusive stories from the new issue.

To illustrate our V family values, we revisit some of our most scrapbook-worthy clips. Ahead, makeup artist Aaron De Mey talks painting Gaga

 

AARON DE MEY: I hate to give a crown to one moment, as every time I work with V Magazine, it is a unique, fun and inspiring experience. Out of the many, one of the most memorable was working on the V99 covers with Lady Gaga as a guest editor. Inez and Vinoodh photographed, Brandon Maxwell styled, Frederic Aspiras did the hair and I did the makeup. This was my first time working with Gaga. We shot in a studio in downtown New York, starting in the afternoon and continuing late into the night, finally finishing at 4:00 am. There were no hard outs or time limits, and before wrapping we all had an impromptu 3:00 am dinner party. She’s an absolute team player and indulges and celebrates everyone’s creativity, giving 150 percent to the creative process. On one of the covers, Gaga is photographed with Inez as her twin, styled identically. To achieve that family resemblance, Gaga adopted Inez’s signature doll eyelashes, pared-down makeup, and long raven black hair.

For the next cover, a complete three-sixty from the previous image, her hair is now yellow, wet and slicked back with a messy winged cat eye, piles of lashes and harshly bleached eyebrows. A Richard Prince biker girl with smudged eyes. There is also one cover where the image is distorted and her face appears as a conceptual cutout collage using a handmade face mask added to a rainbow lip. A total chameleon transformation for every image, getting into full character for each scenario. This shoot will always be memorable for me because I was charmed, intrigued and challenged the whole way through. A day with old friends, spent making new friends.

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