Lady Gaga’s designing sister sets up shop in Las Vegas
When Natali Germanotta started pursuing her dream to design dazzling stage costumes, she didn’t need to look far for an suitable model.
Her older sister helped bring those visions to life. Lady Gaga was more than willing to help her kid sibling.
“I’ve been like so grateful to make like and work with her on so many different costumes, and it’s been just such an amazing experience, also to be able to work with, like your sister or family,” Germanotta says. “It’s a closeness that you just can’t imagine, a feeling that’s really special that I’ll cherish forever.”
Though a famous sibling, Germanotta has the training and credentials to have made it on her own merit.
Germanotta has brought the latest family project to Las Vegas with On Stage Essentials, a heightened costume and supply outlet. Germanotta founded the business with her husband, event and documentary photographer Alex Dolan; and Emmy Award-winning designer Perry Meek.
The store is at 3550 E. Post Road, created “for those who bring entertainment to life,” as the founders announce.
Rhinestones, feathers, fabrics and trims — Las Vegas’s costume greatest-hits package — are for sale. The store is a wholesaler, but the general public is welcome to peruse and purchase. The couple are hosting OSE’s grand opening with VIP events Saturday and Sunday.
Germanotta and Dolan are both graduates of the prestigious Parsons School of Design and were married in June 2024. As founder of New York’s Topo design studio, Germanotta has an extensive history of working with her sister, including Gaga’s “Jazz + Piano” and “Enigma” dual residency, the “Chromatica Ball” and “Joanne” tours, Gaga’s 2023 appearance with the Rolling Stones, and was a member of the costume team on “A Star is Born.”
One of Gaga’s costumes for the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony — a teal crepe, black-satin silk velvet dress with feather capalet — was designed by Germanotta’s Topo Studio. When the entertainment superstar accepted her Oscar for Best Original Song” for “Shallow,” she shouted out to Natali as “my sister, my soulmate, I love you.”
Germanotta has also designed for Gwen Stefani, Brandi Carlisle and Austin Butler, whose portrayal of Elvis in that biopic vaulted him to international fame.
Dolan leads the business’s operations, design flow and digital strategies. The space itself is to tell the couple’s story, producing (in a term we know well) an interactive experience. Reinforcing the familial bond, Germanotta’s father, Joe, and New York marketing exec Gabby Gabriel co-founded Second Wind Media, the company staging this weekend’s launch event.
Germanotta and Dolan began talking of a shop in Las Vegas dates about five years, as Dolan became more active in the company, and just as Gaga was starting her run at Park Theater/Dolby Live.
“Whenever we would come to work in Las Vegas, we had a lot of difficulties and challenges finding materials and supplies in a timely fashion,” Dolan says. “That’s kind of how the the the idea of On Stage Essentials came to be.”
The project will support international and national touring artists, productions of all scale, including live performance and film and TV professionals. “Want to support all the local, smaller artists, too, which there are plenty to go around,” Dolan says.
The couple toggle between their home in New York and business in Vegas. They have checked out several Vegas shows, Cirque’s “O” and “Ka” among them.
“Oh my God, it was incredible, we got to see the costumes up close,” Germanotta says. “I don’t think they were expecting us to be so up close and personal.”
“We were like basically taking notes,” Dolan says.
The couple’s research on Las Vegas’s current productions is ongoing, evolving along with the city.
“Vegas has always been this, like, incredible place, right, for the entertainment industry and performances, and it’s just growing and growing, the amount of talent here is immense and just so beautiful to watch,” Germanotta says. “We love being here and being able to support the community here, big, small, even DIY. We want people walk into our store and feel welcomed, supported, inspired, no matter what their level of experience is.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.