Chappell Roan Brings Medieval Fashion Moment to 2024 MTV VMAs with a Cape, Sword and Her Very Own Knight

Mar. 15, 2025

The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer, 26, brought her epic fashion to the red carpet in New York on Sept. 11 — and she brought it medieval style. She showed up wearing a sheer flowing Y/Project gown topped with a mint green cape. Underneath she wore thigh-high boots.

Her accessories may have shown up the dress, though — she carried a sword and wore metal cuffs on each wrist, as well as a large cross necklace and a Lillian Shalom ring.

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Roan also rocked dramatic manicure courtesy of nail artistJuan Alvear. The pro collaborated withAprés Nailon her “sword-inspired” look. “Each nail was adorned with a pearl, as a nod to pearl jewelry during the Renaissance,” Alvear tells PEOPLE exclusively. The shape requiredGel-X Sculpted Square Long TipsandGel-X Sculpted Stiletto Extra Extra Long Tips.

But just as cool was what was happening under the design. Alvear crafted the nails with sculpted bases “which gave them enough room to cap over Chappell’s performance nails.”

“The performance nails were a bit shorter so Chappell could do choreo and shoot a crossbow,” Alvear explains. “The nails (Gel-X Natural Almond Medium Tips) featured silver chrome detailing and silver domes to reference medieval armor and had fire opal accents for a mystical touch.”

Chappell Roan.Taylor Hill/Getty; Jeff Kravitz/Getty

Taylor Hill/Getty; Jeff Kravitz/Getty

For her first-ever VMAs,Roan is nominatedfor best new artist. She’s up against Benson Boone, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and Tyla. She’s alsoset to performduring the show. Also performing are Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello and Katy Perry, who will take home theVideo Vanguard Award.

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“Katy is a musical powerhouse and true pop culture icon,” Bruce Gillmer, Paramount’s president of music, music talent, programming and events and Paramount+’s chief content officer for music, said in a statement.

He added, “With her game changing creative vision, she has become a global phenomenon and taken over the world’s biggest stages. Katy’s prowess will be on full display LIVE on the VMAs with a can’t-miss, career-encompassing performance celebrating her biggest moments and chart-topping hits.”

Chappell Roan at Gov Ball.Marleen Moise/Getty

Marleen Moise/Getty

Roan has become known for her envelope-pushing fashion choices on stage. At this year’s Governors Ball in New York, shedressed as the Statue of Liberty. She told the crowd she was “in drag” as the monument because Lady Liberty is “the biggest queen of them all,” before quoting the poem etched on the Statue of Liberty.

“That means freedom in trans rights, that means freedom in women’s rights…and it especially means freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories,” she said after getting visibly emotional.

source: people.com