Chappell Roan Is Wary of Fame (& Dressing the Part)
Chappell Roan is pop music's next big thing. The 26-year-old singer is riding the wave of an explosive summer to the peak of her biggest year ever. But she wants to pump the brakes.
Roan's rise, marked by TikTok domination and a sold-out tour, has been so sudden and so extreme that it took by surprise everyone except the kids who boosted her into the stratosphere.
Roan, whose drag-inspired live performances have become the stuff of summer 2024 legend, is feeling the pressure. In a recent interview, she expressed a desire to "[pump] the brakes on, honestly, anything to make me more known."
And so, she's dressing the part.
Seen at LAX on July 26, Roan wore an outfit that cannily realizes her desire to (kinda) disappear while still hitting the stylistic mark.
See, offstage, Roan's oeuvre is recognized for a distinct strain of overt girlishness key to many of today's pop talents, including her friend Sabrina Carpenter. We're not living in a "Woman's World" but an ongoing era of girlhood. But nuanced girlhood, not merely Barbie Pink (though that's part of it, too).
As such, Roan hits the mark with an anorak-style pullover with puffily feminine sleeves. Her stickered water bottle, another quintessential girlish cue. And the leather biker boots under denim tearaway pants? Quintessential 2024 womenswear.
It's a good look. But notice Roan's silhouette: loose, shrouding, cocooning (though still heat-appropriate). This, combined with the dad hat and facemask, affects the appearance of a star going full low-key.
In the span of 24 hours, NPR asked: "What is it about Chappell Roan?" while the New York Times explained how "Chappell Roan booked a tour. Then she blew up." The Washington Post reckoned with "How Chappell Roan did it" and Vanity Fair laid out how Kamala Harris' "campaign is Chappell Roan-ing."
Again, all in just one day. It's been like that for weeks. And that's just the legacy media: forget the podcasts, TV shows, TikTok clips, YouTube videos, Instagram Reels and, er, Snapchat snaps (do people still use those) documenting Roan's ascent.
Little wonder she wants to pump the brakes. And is dressing like it.
