Lady Gaga explains why she wears such crazy costumes

Lady Gaga’s costumes have been entertaining over the years, a lot of time they’re fun, sometimes their stunning, other times they could seem pretentious or just plain odd, but she’s always doing something unexpected. Find out the driving force behind these crazy costume choices.

“I would say that I am [insecure]. Maybe it’s from the things I experienced in my past, you know? Being beautiful is not so fun when you’re in a business with all men,” she tells Andy Cohen about her obsession with the odd in the latest issue of Glamour.

“It can actually get in the way. So in some ways, the outfits—these creations are because I don’t want to face the reality of what people want from a female pop star,” she says. “Everybody always laughs because I feel so much more comfortable with, like, a giant paper bag on my whole body and paint on my face. Sometimes I try really hard to take it all off. But inevitably what’s underneath is still not a straight edge. And I don’t think it ever will be.”

Gaga also tells Andy that she’s a “tortured soul.” Gaga also talks about the eating disorder she’s had since she was 15. Unless a lot of stars who open up about disordered eating and body issues, she doesn’t claim that she’s over it, or that it’s a thing of the past. “I’ve always have been [conflicted about body image]. And some days are better than others, you know? Some days I feel fantastic.”

Despite these issues and insecurities, Gaga says she feels confident about who she is and how she looks.

“Yeah. I’m confident in who I am,” she’s said. “I’ve come to a place in my life where I’ve accepted things that are me, as opposed to feeling pressure to explain myself to people around me. That’s just the way I’ve always tried to be. It didn’t change when I became a star. If there was some sort of mathematical equation for beauty, I don’t know if I would be the algorithm. I’ve always been OK with that. I’m not a supermodel. That’s not what I do. What I do is music. I want my fans to feel the way I do, to know what they have to offer is just as important, more important, than what’s happening on the outside.