Meet the Designers Behind Lady Gaga's Red Latex Cape from the "Abracadabra" Music Video

If your favorite artist has worn a latex outfit, it's likely that Reneé Masoomian made it.

That's true of Lady Gaga.

Masoomian, who founded her eponymous, New York-based brand in 2006, created the red latex cape seen in Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" music video alongside the brand's executive director, Persephone.

"Abracadabra" debuted during the Grammys as the second single from Lady Gaga's seventh studio album, Mayhem.

Masoomian and Persephone have created looks for Beyoncé, Blake Lively and Fat Mike of the band NOFX, among other celebrity clients.

Here, Masoomian and Persephone share how they brought the cape to life in just a few days.

This interview has been edited and condensed for style and clarity.

Latex. New York City. It all feels very Lady Gaga. Can you take us through how this commission came to be?

Masoomian: Latex and New York City are definitely very Gaga. The commission came from our relationship with Hardstyle and stylist Peri Rosenzweig in particular. We've been tapped to make looks for their celebrity clientele on several occasions. We first heard about this project a few days before they needed it. We were very excited. And then we had to sort out all the details and get the product done. 

Persephone: It’s fairly common practice in this industry for us to receive little to no prior notice before a project is due! We typically only have one to two days to fulfill celebrity requests — sometimes a whole week if we’re really lucky!

Have you designed for Lady Gaga before?

Persephone: Back in 2011, I had the privilege of constructing several of the garments worn by the entourage that carried Lady Gaga in an egg-shaped vessel down the red carpet of the 53rd annual Grammy Awards prior to her emergence during the “Born This Way” performance. It was the first big celebrity project I worked on and we only had two days to complete everything.

I also constructed an amazing transparent latex bra with pose-able wired alien flower petals protruding from the center of each cup, but it never saw the light of day. I still wonder what happened to that because it was so cool!

Latex is such a striking and unique material — what draws you to work with it?

Masoomian: Latex is definitely a unique material. I've been sewing since childhood so my boredom in college led me to experiment with latex. In general, it can be a very temperamental material but the overall outcome of the finished product is unlike any other.

There is no replacement for rubber. No other material has the same stretch, shine or second-skin, lifelike feel. Rubber can transfer temperatures. It holds you. It supports you like a hug. It's also more sustainable than PVC or any plastics, and synthetic rubbers.

Persephone: It is an immensely challenging material with a high learning curve.  All the construction is done by hand, no part of the process is automated, and it can take a long time to train your muscle memory to piece the seams together without any flaws.

It really is a magical material and when you can get it to do something it normally wouldn’t, it is so satisfying — like figuring out how to engineer a cape to hang from nails without slipping or ripping!

Olivier Theyskens designed the piece, and you brought it to life. How did that collaboration work in practice?

Masoomian: Peri contacted us December 4 and asked if we would be able to make a garment if they sent over a sketch of the design. The first sketch shared with us was actually the white Olivier Theyskens catsuit, which Peri was thinking about having made in latex.

On December 6, we received the Samuel Lewis sketch of the red cape and the decision was made for us to create that look instead. Peri was able to hunt down those amazing nails and get them delivered to our studio in less than 24 hours.

Friday we were sent measurements and by 3 a.m. Monday the cape was finished, with very late and long hours put into it over the course of the weekend. Peri communicated Olivier’s vision to us. They were in Europe, Peri was in Los Angeles and we were in New York. It was definitely a team effort.

Persephone: The sketch was not accompanied by any other details so we had some freedom in how to physically bring the drawing to life. Reneé was familiar with Olivier’s aesthetic and knew the front closures would be hook and eye without having that detail explicitly communicated to us. The rest was all construction conundrums that could only be resolved in practice through the creation of samples, and trial and error.

Maximilian Gedra created the custom red spiked hat that Gaga wears in the music video — was there any discussion or coordination between designers to maintain a cohesive aesthetic?

Masoomian: Sadly, we did not even know that the hat was going to be involved with our look. The sketch we were given only showed the cape with the model’s face shrouded in red. But the hat definitely fully completes the look.

Persephone: I’m really impressed by the color matching, as reds are notoriously difficult to match and differences in hue can really clash, but Gedra’s amazing hat complements the latex cape perfectly.

How did you incorporate the metal nails into the piece without compromising movement or structural integrity?

Masoomian: When we first saw this illustration, we knew hunting down the hardware was definitely going to be a top priority. Peri was able to source the nails, which are actually not from the garment industry — they’re Chicago screw-posts for industrial book binding. They're aluminum, which is essential due to weight concerns, and also helps preserve the latex, as anything nickel-based, copper, bronze or brass can cause stains or discoloration. 

The weight of the garment, even when using aluminum, was still definitely an issue, and the shoulder structure had to be reinforced with spiral steel boning and fully padded to maintain its shape.

Persephone: In order to help hold the weight we reinforced the latex with a double layer to make it thicker before punching little holes and threading the nails through — this helps prevent the latex from tearing. The nails were treated with a special glue on the backside and backed with rubberized twine. Then we layered another latex reinforcement strip over everything on the inside of the garment to seal and secure each individual nail in place. Because the nails are so close together, it helps distribute the weight.

What was the most difficult or unexpected part of creating this particular piece for Gaga?

Masoomian: Well, we definitely had a very short window to make this piece. Whenever there’s a time constraint it also means we’re going to be working overtime to get the job done.

There are definitely unexpected challenges that usually pop up while testing the piece. All latex yardage starts out powdered to prevent it from sticking to itself. Once we washed the cape and shined it with latex polish we realized just the added weight of the polish itself might be too much for the bottom half to defy gravity — but we had already shipped it to Los Angeles by that point. 

Another unexpected development was Lady Gaga’s desire to dance in the cape. She loved it so much after the first fitting that she asked for arm holes so she could move in it. The original illustration didn't have armholes. So I had to fly out to Los Angeles to slice arm holes in the cape and reinforce the suspension of the bottom half of the cape with the rubberized twine Persephone mentioned earlier.

Persephone: For me the most challenging part was actually the curvature of the shoulders. We made the upper portion of the cape out of double thick latex which we laminated in-house. The thicker the latex is, the less stretch it has. I can’t properly convey how difficult it is to convince latex to turn a corner at that tight of an angle. Suffice to say, it took me at least 10 attempts to stick those shoulder seams together in a manner befitting Mother Monster. 

Punching the holes was immensely tedious, given the sheer quantity involved. And then threading the nails through the holes was in and of itself quite hard on one’s fingers. Of course, once we installed the nails we saw that the shoulder curvature would need to be reinforced to maintain the proper silhouette, hence the spiral steel boning and custom improvised shoulder pads mentioned by Reneé.

What does it mean to you, personally and professionally, to have Lady Gaga wear your work?

Masoomian: We’re definitely excited to have her wear our work. But we're excited for all our customers. We’ve had customers that come up to us and tell us that they save all year just to be able to buy pieces from us and that is also super fucking exciting. They get to choose the first piece of latex they’ve ever owned and they’ve chosen to get it from us.

Persephone: As fellow New Yorkers and latex aficionados, it means a lot to have Lady Gaga wear a piece made by us here in New York City. We’re a small, woman-owned business making everything by hand in our studio in the Upper West Side. To have Lady Gaga support us is immense.

On a personal note, it has really been wild for me to reflect back on making garments for her entourage back at the beginning of my latex journey 14 years ago, and to now have the privilege of helping bring this iconic piece to life with Reneé has just been incredible.

Now that the music video is out, what was it like seeing your design come to life on screen? Did the visuals align with how you envisioned the piece in motion?

Masoomian: It was quite a high to see our work in this video. It's not the first time that we've seen our designs in such a way, but this is one of our top favorites that we’ve ever done. A friend of mine was actually watching the Grammys at the time when the music video was released and texted me as soon as it happened to let me know that it aired. 

We weren't told very much while on site. Someone said that the video was expected to be released on the day of the Grammys. I was definitely not expecting it to drop at the Grammys, so that was a huge excitement!

The visuals of this piece are just so gorgeous. I was on grounds and had to be rushed to set because when an artist is up that high in the air with no safety rail, they attach a tether to the waist and it was necessary to discuss if the cape had enough volume to accommodate the tether without having to cut it apart.

Persephone: This is by far our favorite celebrity commission. The design reminds me a bit of the cenobites in Hellraiser — and who doesn’t love a good cenobite? Seeing the cape paired with Gedra’s hat, the makeup and the starkness of the set really gave the whole visual a breathtaking sense of depth and harrowing beauty.

Tell us the story behind the Reneé Masoomian brand.

Masoomian: I taught myself how to make latex while I was still studying fashion design in college. At that time there was not much information out there; no books, blogs or YouTube how-to videos like there are now. Since I didn't have much money back then I couldn't afford to buy a lot of latex sheeting, so I practiced with used bicycle tubes to perfect my seam work. After college I worked with Delicious Corsets and Passional Boutique in Philadelphia.

In 2006, I decided to start my own business making latex clothing with zero backing or finances. With that humble beginning, over the last 19-plus years I have been able to carve out a niche for myself in the latex field, specializing in my love for fashion and vintage, reinterpreting style through the modern twist of latex.

In 2021, I was able to hire Persephone who has been working in this field for 15 years and we have grown the RM brand ever since.

Persephone: Each of our pieces is designed and made by hand in our Manhattan studio using only the highest quality latex in a rainbow of colors and fanciful textures. As innovators of mixed media we have combined latex with bamboo jersey, fleece, power mesh and a variety of other textiles. Years of experience have yielded polished techniques in the creation of hand-poured netting, unique molded latex lace appliqué and one-of-a-kind, hand-painted sheeting. Our silhouettes are available in feminine, masculine and nonbinary styles, in a full range of inclusive sizing. Made to measure services are available, as well as custom creations to satisfy your wildest imaginings. We also create a variety of accessories, including latex clutches, jewelry and headpieces, to complete any look.

What’s next for you? Where can readers follow your work?

Masoomian: We aren’t fully able to say what’s next. Partly because we don’t know, and partly because we can’t say. We are always working!

Persephone: Check out the trailer for Another Simple Favor, and see if you can spot any latex ...