At the V.M.A.s, Lady Gaga’s Clothes Were Good, but Her Masks Were Better

The question of what the red carpet, that weird celebrity style ritual that reached its apogee in the early 21st century as a marketing/social media/fashion Frankenstein’s monster, would become in a Covid-19 world — could it still exist at all, when most people have given up on party dressing entirely — was finally answered Sunday night at, of all places, the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. And it was answered by Lady Gaga.

Held live around New York City, socially distanced but without an audience, the V.M.A.s were the last of the summer award shows, and the first to attempt some semblance of old days pizazz, rather than Zooming-from-your-living-room relatability. Keke Palmer hosted, and both acknowledged the tragedies of the day — the death of Chadwick Boseman, the shooting of Jacob Blake — and engaged in multiple-dress modeling.

Not everyone wanted in. Taylor Swift accepted her prize remotely. So did BTS, though the band performed in a prerecorded segment in very snazzy suits and ties. There was a space where hosts and performers could pose on their ownsome for arrival photos to show off their clothes, but they didn’t quite reach the usual critical mass: Sofia Carson, in red Giambattista Valli with a giant poufy peplum; Joey King in a short rose-print Versace; Machine Gun Kelly in hot pink Berluti.

But then came Lady Gaga. She puffed it back up all by herself.

She accepted her many awards in person. She performed. She changed clothes every single time she appeared, and she appeared seven times. And almost every time she appeared in her seven different outfits, she wore a different face mask.