feature image art by Autostraddle / photo of Chappell Roan in EAT ME shirt by Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
As much as she’s known for her sexy, catchy lesbian pop songs, Chappell Roan’s fame is also defined by her looks. Often harnessing touchstones of New Romanticism, Chappell’s fashion pays tribute to queer and drag history, to camp, to her theater kid roots, to horror, and of course, to the Midwest where she’s from. The looks are over-the-top but also more trashy and inventive than they are “stylish” or elegant, a collision of highbrow/lowbrow aesthetics.
Frequent collaborator Genesis Webb —who also hails from the Midwest —has frequently styled Chappell for the stage and shoots, and apparently their partnership on serving extreme cunt was a match made in heaven: “We both have a trashy, less defined sense of fashion than high fashion,” Webb told Vulture in an interview. “When I was dressing her, we immediately went into this mode of, ‘Eh, who cares about the label and politics. I just want you to look sick.’”
The results are striking, memorable, and —much like Chappell’s music —simply sexy and fun.
From some looks from her music videos to her on-stage drag tributes to the costume themes she curates for fans to follow, here are Chappell Roan’s most iconic queer looks, power ranked.
17. Chappell in the “HOT TO GO!” Music Video
I feel like in this screengrab in particular, she’s recruiting me into the cult of Chappell. And it worked, bitch! Loving the gay Ringling look. My sequin queen!
16. Chappell as Horror Doll at Bonnaroo
I feel like this one goes out to all the girls who shopped at Hot Topic, and I mean that absolutely as a compliment because I have been that girl.
15. Chappell in the “My Kink Is Karma” Music Video
If I had to imagine a closet of Chappell’s staples, I’m pretty sure this is what I’d imagine: red bra, something leopard print, and tights. That’s all a girl needs, really!
14. Chappell as Football Player
13. Chappell as My Kink Is Karma at Boston Calling
Chappell often assigns themes to her live shows for her fans to dress to, and this is a great execution of her own My Kink Is Karma theme, which is all about black/red contrasts, a mixture of textures like leather, fur, and velvet, and almost harlequin-esque touches. She looks like the goth girl at prom, and I love it.
12. Chappell as Blue Pony Club
Whether intentional or not (since I believe this was from a show prior to Chappell establishing her official themes), this look takes the elements of her Pink Pony Club Theme but then executes them with the color palette of her Mermaids theme. Chappell is constantly collaging with her looks!
11. Chappell as White Swan on Jimmy Fallon
Though its black counterpart ended up ranked much higher, I gotta give flowers to this pristine white avian look. That headpiece alone! It’s very impressive to me that she did a televised performance with literal feathers sprouting from her eyes.
10. Chappell in the “Pink Pony Club” Music Video
This is a wild card for the 10th spot on the list, as it ended up beating out some more over-the-top glam looks, but the gay cowboy glam of Chappell’s “Pink Pony Club” music video deserves a top ten spot for harnessing one of Chappell’s greatest fashion weapons: combining midwestern rural aesthetics with gay glam. Initially, she looks “out of place” in this honky tonk, but by the end, she’s far from it, her infectious aesthetic infiltrating the space. Even in lo-fi hair and makeup, Chappell slays.
9. Chappell as Taxi at Gov Ball
Not quite as good as the full Statue of Liberty look I ranked higher, but playful and fun nonetheless!
8. Chappell as Poor Things on Stephen Colbert
My love of Poor Things and especially its costumes meant there was no way this look wasn’t making the top ten. Webb told Vulture this was the first look they actually had budget for, and it shows! It was explicitly inspired by Poor Things, particularly by the women who worked in the brothel in the film.
7. Chappell as Butterfly at Coachella
Though her other Coachella look won out as my favorite, it’s hard to deny the sheer scope of this butterfly look, a custom design by @jackalopeland. I have no idea how she was able to perform in wings spanning six feet. (She did eventually detach them on stage, but still.)
6. Chappell as Penelope for “Good Luck Babe” Cover Art and Grammys After Party
Designed by special effects makeup artist Tyler Green, Chappell’s “Good Luck Babe” prosthetic nose is a nod to the 2006 film Penelope, in which Christina Ricci plays the titular young heiress born with a pig snout due to a curse placed on her family by a witch. Combined with the headpiece, there’s almost an underworld glamor to this look.
5. Chappell as Prom Queen for Tiny Desk Concert
I like Chappell’s Tiny Desk look, because it feels like the next evolution of her Prom Queen aesthetic from the album cover for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. There’s a wild mix of elements here, but it all comes together into a cohesive vision. Chappell’s looks often reference each other, and here I can see touches of not only her album cover look but also connections between the butterfly clips and her big butterfly look at Coachella and her eye makeup here and then her eventual eye makeup at Kentuckiana Pride when she dressed as Divine. With Webb, she’s building an arsenal of looks that all talk to each other. That’s just great artistry.
4. Chappell as the Statue of Liberty at Gov Ball
I tend to favor Chappell’s trashy/freaky looks over her pretty ones, but this Statue of Liberty look was so pretty while also maintaining a sense of strangeness due to, well, her entire body being painted glitter-green. She wears it well (Wicked Broadway run when?), and I love just the sheer idea of transforming a symbol of American patriotism into a slutty queer camp persona. She was wearing this look when she announced she would not perform at the White House Pride parade as a political statement, and that also sends this one up in the power rankings.
3. Chappell as EAT ME at Coachella
This look ended up higher in my rankings than I originally anticipated, but it’s just a perfect distillation of Chappell’s trashy, campy aesthetics, and I love that she wore it specifically for her Coachella debut because it feels so distinctly her. It’s textural chaos, and I love the mix of hardware and gemstones. Chappell’s commitment to a leopard print is aspirational, and there’s something almost clown core about this, but like a slutty weird clown. The EAT ME top with the boob-highlighting cutout is just the cherry on top. Webb cites Vivienne Westwood as an influence here, and it shows!
2. Chappell as Black Swan on Jimmy Fallon
“My stylist Genesis Webb and I pull from drag, horror movies, burlesque, theater. I love looking pretty and scary,” Chappell said in her Jimmy Fallon appearance, underscoring exactly why I love her looks so much. Horror, burlesque, theater? You’re speaking my goddamn language, babe! This bird-like look (and its white counterpart from further up the list) was made possible by a whole team of collaborators, including hairstylist Dom Forletta who’s responsible for that Carole Kane ass mane, makeup artist Andrew Dahling on the eye feathers, and of course those fucking incredible nails that Chappell gay-clicked throughout her interview, executed by Juan Alvear.
1. Chappell as Divine at Kentuckiana Pride
This one’s the winner. Chappell’s two-look tribute to drag icon Divine at Kentuckiana Pride was technically simple but flawless in its execution. Paying homage to the queen of filth at her attendance record-breaking headlining show at a Pride festival in the Bible Belt is queen shit. The clash of red between the Pink Flamingos-referencing gown and her mess of fiery curls! The leopard-print one-piece! The blue eye shadow (with Andrew Dahling on the makeup again, made extra special since he’s from Kentucky)! This right here is exactly why I extra appreciate Chappell’s artistry. There’s a real reverence for the queer art that has come before her, especially queer art that centers drag performers. She indeed looks divine.
