MANHATTAN — We've entered the "12 Days of Gaga."
That's what Barneys is calling the countdown from Wednesday until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 21, when the luxury retailer’s Madison Avenue flagship opens "Gaga's Workshop," a holiday extravaganza with over-the-top window displays and limited-edition products created in collaboration with Lady Gaga.
Shoppers will enter through the store’s 60th Street entrance, which will be tricked out to make people feel like they’re walking into the mouth of a giant monster-like Lady Gaga, Barneys officials said. The displays are also under the creative direction of Gaga's stylist, Nicola Formichetti.
To build anticipation, each day before the opening, a new limited-edition product will be released on the workshop’s official countdown website. Wednesday’s item was a $15 hand-decorated cookie with the face of Lady Gaga wearing a telephone hat.
When the windows and workshop spectacle is unveiled just before midnight on Nov. 21, it will remain open all night.
The midnight opening — perhaps more common for Black Friday door-buster deals at Wal-Mart or when Harry Potter books go on sale — is unprecedented move for Barneys, store officials said.
Lady Gaga’s workshop will consume the all 5,500 square feet of the fifth floor men’s section and will be divided into eight elaborately designed stations, including a toy shop, library, gallery and a jewelry shop created out of "an oversized Lady Gaga-turned-spider and a boudoir in the shape of a giant wig," according to store reps.
Barneys’ Madison Avenue windows will be transformed into “a Gaga themed tableaux,” taking inspiration from music, fashion, astrology and the elements, store officials said.
The products will range in price from $6 for stocking stuffer candy to a one-off pair of Gaga shoes for $4,100, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
Barneys will donate 25 percent of sales from all items featured in Gaga’s Workshop to the Born This Way Foundation, recently founded and announced by Lady Gaga and her mother. The foundation will focus on youth empowerment by building self-confidence, fighting bullying, mentoring and career development.
