The Aussie fast fashion brand pairs with the American singer through her Born This Way Foundation for charity

Lady Gaga modelling the T-shirt conceived in collaboration with Cotton:On. Photo: Cotton:On

Who is not collaborating with some pop star? Cotton:On is definitely not losing out. They’ve just announced a partnership with Lady Gaga—she of her own maison Haus of Gaga—through her Born This Way Foundation. This may, however, not be a pairing that would get you rushing to your nearest Cotton:On store. In fact, Lady Gaga fans may be more than a tad disappointed that the complete line is not available among the staggering merchandise they sell. Only two items from the five-piece collection are available in stores here. When we asked one of staffers at a quiet outlet about the whole collection, she looked at us blankly and then said that only the tote bag and the cap are available. What about the clothes? She said she would check and returned to say that “the rest you have to buy online”.

We had to content with looking at just the duo products available on the rack at the rear of the store. The tote, in the thinnest and flimsiest cotton you’ll ever find, is emblazoned in the collab slogan, “We can build a kinder braver world together”, followed by the logos of the two partners-in-charity. The cap comes with the shorter “kinder, braver world” text on the front. Both are available in two colours; the tote in off-white and black, and the cap in a washed-to-pale-blue and black. The cap in that whisper of aqua and contrast stitching is rather attractive. Unsurprisingly, on top of those, is a T-shirt—with a globe-illustration-and-text in front and the partnership’s full message at the back. There is also a denim jacket similarly worded.

The cap with Lady Gaga’s positive message. Photo: Jim Sim

Lady Gaga’s latest collaboration is, to some degree, surprising. She appears in Cotton:On’s images looking as if she is playing a character—a woman from the Outback wanting to style up her bush-country look. She adds four strands of necklaces of varying weights to pair with the otherwise undistinguished T-shirt. Her hair, now pale blond, is wispy, as though styled with sea-salt spray; her makeup is natural except for the scare-snakes-away, sulphur-powder-yellow eyeshadow and the prominent lashes. She has on a pair of double-hooped earrings in concentric formation. This is hardly Mother Monster-fabulous; just mother. She is usually made of sterner stuff, but, perhaps, for the land of lamingtons, she saw it fit to tone things down, significantly.

Lady Gaga is mostly known for collaborating with brands on image than actual design, from the Versace’s spring/summer 2014 print commercials to the Tom Ford spring/summer 2016 fashion/music video, she has always looked the epitome of fashion at its most haute/extreme/daring. For Cotton:On, she dialled all that down many notches, and the products look it. These could be concert merchandise, ready for fans should Lady Gaga come this way. Or, perhaps, since this is for charity (in Singapore, all proceeds from the sale of the merchandise of the collab go to the Singapore Association for Mental Health), fashion is secondary. In any case, if you are keen to buy all that is part of this program, a Born This Way Foundation Bundle, comprising all five products at S$215, might be a better purchase. As Cotton:On says, “Shop to Support”.

Cotton:On X Born This Way Foundation tote, SGD5 and cap, SGD30, are available at Cotton:On stores island-wide. Others are available online at the bramd’s e-store. Merchandise are available until 10 October