CLEVELAND — Lady Gaga made history at last year's MTV Video Music Awards when she turned butcher's cuts into high fashion.

On Thursday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland unveiled the singer's raw-meat dress to the public. The dress -- made of layers of Argentinian beef -- was kept in a meat locker, placed in a vat of chemicals and then dried out by taxidermists in California before being transported to the museum.

Hall of Fame spokeswoman Margaret Thresher says the dress took on a "dark, beef-jerky" look while dehydrating, so it was painted to look "fresh" afterward. The entire process took several months to complete.

The dress is being displayed as part of the "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" exhibit, which runs until February 2012.