Chappell Roan Shares the Inspiration Behind Her Unique Stage Looks: 'I Love Looking Pretty and Scary'

"It's just not serious," the rising pop star said during an appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

Musical guest Chappell Roan performs on THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON
Chappell Roan on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Photo:

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Chappell Roan is breaking down her unique stage looks.

The 26-year-old pop musician is currently enjoying a meteoric rise thanks in part to her bold costume choices and signature white face makeup. During her Thursday, June 20, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Roan shared where she gets her style inspiration.

"My stylist Genesis Webb and I pull from drag, we pull from horror movies, we pull from burlesque, we pull from theater," she told host Jimmy Fallon. "I love looking pretty and scary. Or, like, pretty and tacky. Or just not pretty. I love that too."

The "Pink Pony Club" singer explained that when it comes to fashion, playfulness is at top of mind.

"I just think it's just not serious," she said. "I love that fans find such deep meanings to things and I'm just like, 'I don't know, I thought I looked hot.' Like, I don't know if it's anything more than that."

For her interview with Fallon, 49, Roan wore a black minidress with protruding feathers. Her dramatic makeup look, which also featured bleached brows, included coordinating feather details.

"You look fantastic. Thank you so much for being here," the host told the star.

"Thank you so much for letting me borrow this outfit," she joked.

The singer also notably swapped her signature copper curls for a bleach blonde style. Her hairstylist Dom Forletta told Vogue that the look was a wig.

“The blonde really enhanced the sort of ethereal, swan look we were going for here,” Forletta told the outlet. "Yes, it's a wig! A wig and a lot of extensions because we wanted to match the fullness of Chappell’s real hair.” 

Roan later changed into a white feathered outfit and matching headpiece to perform her hit song, "Good Luck, Babe!"

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Chappell Roan performs during the 2024 Governors Ball
Chappell Roan at the 2024 Governors Ball.

Marleen Moise/Getty

Earlier this month, the singer performed at Governors Ball in New York City, where she made headlines by dressing as the Statue of Liberty. She took the stage in a tube top, skirt and crown headpiece, cementing her commitment to the look with green body paint.

For a dramatic and on-theme entrance, Roan emerged from a massive red apple, another homage to the city where the festival was taking place.

She explained to the crowd that she was "in drag" as Lady Liberty because she is "the biggest queen of them all,” before quoting the poem by Emma Lazarus that's etched on the famous statue.

Chappell Roan performs during 2024 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Chappell Roan at the 2024 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.

Erika Goldring/Getty

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Roan is openly queer and previously spoke to PEOPLE about why she is an outspoken advocate of drag performance and books drag queens to open for her concerts.

“It's just a great way to engage the local queer community to that city,” she said in the 2023 interview. "I encourage people to tip the queens, that's redistributing funds within the community there, and also it just gives a platform for the drag queens."

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