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

Chappell Roan didn't mess around when it came to getting ready for her first MTV VMAs.

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.

Roan's red hair was styled in romantic curls that were swept off her face. Hair pro Dom Forletta used Olivia Garden and Bumble and bumble products to create her medieval braided look. She was escorted onto the carpet by a knight in appropriate attire. Her glam was dark and vampy with a smokey eye and dark red lipstick.

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Roan also rocked dramatic manicure courtesy of nail artist Juan Alvear. The pro collaborated with Aprés Nail on 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 required Gel-X Sculpted Square Long Tips and Gel-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.”

For her first-ever VMAs, Roan is nominated for best new artist. She's up against Benson Boone, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and Tyla. She's also set to perform during the show. Also performing are Sabrina Carpenter, Camila Cabello and Katy Perry, who will take home the Video 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."

Roan has become known for her envelope-pushing fashion choices on stage. At this year's Governors Ball in New York, she dressed 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.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free," she quoted part of the poem, before explaining the words in her opinion, per a video shared on TikTok by Rolling Stone.

"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.

The 2024 MTV VMAs air on Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/ PT live from the UBS Arena in New York.