Behind Lady Gaga's killer look in 'American Horror Story: Hotel'

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

Given Lady Gaga’s status as a style icon, it’s not surprising that American Horror Story’s look this year is fashionably following suit.

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“It’s really, really modern glamour, which we’ve never done,” Ryan Murphy says of American Horror Story‘s look in the new season.

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

Lady Gaga, Ryan Murphy, and AHS costume designer Lou Eyrich (who nabbed an Emmy for her work on Coven) collaborated on the aesthetic of the Countess.

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

The Countess has kidnapped/adopted a brood of bloodsucking children. “They are the most important thing to her,” says Gaga. “More than anything, I think she wants to identify in a very human way.”

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

The Countess kills with the claws of a chain-mail glove designed by L.A. accessories wiz Michael Schmidt, who has created custom pieces for Cher and Madonna. Murphy wanted it to look “both rock & roll and old at the same time,” says Eyrich. “The nails have diamonds on the edge to slice.”

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“I’ve felt it with only a few people in my career when you do something and you say, ‘I belong here,’” says Gaga of joining AHS. “And I feel that way with the cast — I just feel like we somehow belong together whether I’m on the show or not.”

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“Black, red, and cream, are the main colors and then punches of brighter colors like the blues and greens,” says Eyrich of The Countess. “It definitely skews towards the ’30s and ’40s but then punch it up to be modern.”

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“One thing Ryan talked with me and Gaga about is we wanted the audience to look at her as an actor playing the Countess and completely separate from how her fans know her as Gaga,” says Eyrich.

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“I’ve been sort of weeping silently on my own as we go through the day because I can feel my inner child just exploding with excitement at the lack of limitation,” says Gaga. “There are no limits.”

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

“She’s like a silent-film actress,” says Murphy, who praises Gaga’s highly styled mini-movies for hits like “Paparazzi,” in which she dons boundary-pushing designs by Dolce & Gabbana, Thierry Mugler, and Jeremy Scott.

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MICHAEL AVEDON for EW

To continue reading more about the upcoming season of American Horror Story, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday, or buy it here.

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Behind Lady Gaga's killer look in 'American Horror Story: Hotel'

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