Grammy Awards: Onstage, an egg hatches and feathers fly

If the fashion that appeared on the Grammy red carpet seemed relatively tame, a handful of artists made up for it when they performed onstage during the awards ceremony. Lady Gaga led the pack with her arrival in a Hussein Chalayan-designed pod that was carried in the manner of an ancient Egyptian litter. She “hatched” from the egg-like structure wearing a transparent yellow raincoat-style jacket and a wide brim hat, and her cropped top and long skirt with a high slit allowed her to successfully sing and dance after she emerged.

Other notable onstage apparel included the feathered bird outfit with a rhinestone skullcap and silver chest plate worn by Cee Lo Green and Rihanna’s dramatic ball gown, which fit her dark performance with Eminem much better than the frothy white Jean Paul Gaultier confection she wore on the red carpet. (She reappeared later in the show for some bump and grind with Drake in an outfit that might best be described politely as a fringed, two-piece bathing suit.)

Katy Perry traded out the custom Armani gown she wore on the red carpet and appeared in a heavily beaded silvery dress while singing on a giant swing. And Mick Jagger, performing a tribute to Solomon Burke in a peacock blue jacket with black lapels and matching shirt, demonstrated that age is not necessarily a deterrent to a sense of style.