Lady Gaga is set to return to New York’s Fashion Week next month with a Feb. 10 performance at the amfAR New York gala fundraiser, where she'll likely point the way for countless imitators during the past year.

Whether you love or loathe Gaga’s fashion statements, you have to admit her outlandish and oddball fashion picks set the fashion pace in 09. (Further proof of her influence as a fashion trendsetter: dolls in her own likeness!) How did this happen? Simple: Stefani Germanotta never missed an opportunity to show off a new look, from the playful-and-puzzling outfits she wore while setting fire to her piano onstage to the head-scratchers she chose for working the red carpet. How could Rihanna, Fergie and other stars NOT pay attention?

Click through the gallery to see the clearest evidence of Lady Gaga’s influence on the stars of the past year — was imitation just a form of flattery?