Now I know it has been a few weeks, and all of the other editors have written schpiels about their night with Gaga, but give me a break, it is their full time job, and blogging is in addition to mine! But in all seriousness the real reason for the lapse is that I finally have the time to penn down one of the greatest experiences in visual merchandising history (or at the very least, in the history of this blog!)

But before we get to the windows though, my night with Gaga begins…

After meeting with my bestie on 60th, at Barneys’ side entrance, where fans and press had been camped out for hours, I resided myself to the fact that, well, at 5’3” I just wasn’t going to see the pop icon; basking in her presence would have to be enough. But as they say, good things come to, well Kirk and I, and right before Gaga arrived, the barricades were moved, and we found ourselves front row for the ribbon cutting! I have to say that as a child of the 90′s, you would think I would have found myself in the middle of a group of screaming teens at an N’sync concert, and not on the eve of my twenty fifth birthday. But there we were, front row when she arrived. Some cried, more screamed, many pushed; and then it was over. Appearing before the crowd in a custom Karl Lagerfeld frock, the likes of a woman in the Rococo era, it was in those three brief minutes I was bitten by the Gaga bug!

After the ribbon cutting, we perused the windows and headed inside for the workshop. Unfortunately we didn’t exactly make it as planned, becoming sidetracked by the open bar and cute cater waiters pouring out cotton candy champagne shots. In Gaga fashion endless trays of mini tye-dye donuts, jello sticks, & sorbet cones were passed around while the guests danced in the warmth of the “come as you are” vibe. The party was undeniably devoid of pretention, abandon, and care; exactly how one would imagine a Lady Gaga soiree! Guests sported workshop purchases on their heads, bags on their arms, and who would have guessed that by midnight it would have to be restocked for the eager fans waiting outside.

As the night waned, we said our goodbyes, headed outside and caught up with DJ, style icon, and best friend to Gaga, Lady Starlight! And after sharing our musical praises (Starlight dj’ed the after party), she disappeared into the night in an unmarked black SUV, much like Lady Gaga did earlier.

All in all, it was an amazing night and wonderful collaboration in fashion, art, & music history.

Thank you to everyone involved that made the special event & even more spectacular windows possible!!!

Images of Lady Gaga courtesy of Huffington Post