Volantis
The World's first and only Flying Dress
Lady Gaga - 2013
For XO and In collaboration with The Haus of Gaga
Lady Gaga launched Artpop, her third studio album, with a party in Brooklyn for several thousand of her fans on November 2013. To kick off the evening Lady Gaga unveiled and took her first flight in Volantis, the worlds first and only flying dress.
Volantis quickly gained notoriety and was featured widely in the entertainment and music press as well as many tabloid newspapers - it was even mentioned on David Letterman's satirical night time show. Volantis memes went viral on social-media platforms and a model of the work even ended up in the game "The Sims 3".
From May 2017 Volantis was displayed in the "Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?" exhibition at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York.
Services
Creative Direction - Technical Direction - Project Management - Press and PR
Benjamin worked with Lady Gaga and her team alongside the XO creative team to develop the concept of the worlds first flying dress - an almost impossible project with the technology at the time. He was however able to prove that it was technically possible to achieve and sourced the best unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and aero engineers in the USA to help deliver this world first.
Volantis was built in a secret location in the San Diago desert and tested under strict security conditions before its unveiling at Lady Gaga's Artpop album launch.
Benjamin appears alongside Lady Gaga and XO Co-Founder Nancy Tilbury in the video of the event, filmed by Terry Richardson.
