Labour of love

A creative partnership between Lady Gaga and Dom Pérignon celebrates the champagne house's 2013 vintage. We talk hard work and happiness with the effervescent star

- TILLY MACALISTER-SMITH

To celebrate Dom Pérignon unveiling its 2013 vintage, Lady Gaga is starring in a new campaign that portrays the synergies between a champagne vintage’s maturation and an artist moving through the creative process. Directed and scored by Woodkid (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui oversaw choreography and Nicola Formichetti styled the costumes, including a bodice made by Gaga’s sister, Natali Germanotta), the film was shot partly in Hautvillers Abbey, once home to innovative winemaking Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon.

Vincent Chaperon, the champagne house’s chef de cave (cellar master), sees champagne as a philosophy. He speaks with the considered tone of a refined craftsperson, respectful of the nearly four centuries of expertise guiding him as he explains how it takes a decade to produce relatively small quantities and how one is at the mercy of the ever-changing and unpredictable elements. Working with talent such as Gaga, he says, is necessary to reflect the ‘complexity, depth and sensation of the champagne’.

In anticipation of the launch of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013, Wallpaper* met with Gaga at an exclusive dinner party held at a private John Lautner house in the Hollywood Hills in October 2022. Here, we share edited excerpts from our conversation.

Lady Gaga on the inspiration for the film