At her sold-out Cincinnati concert on Sunday, March 10, singer-songwriter Chappell Roan noticed someone in the audience wearing only a black leather vest and red speedo.
“Guess what? You’re allowed to wear that at a Chappell Roan concert… even in Ohio,” Roan said into the microphone while playing the opening chords to her song “Kaleidoscope.”
Referred to as a “queer pop powerhouse” by the Washington Post, Roan is an American pop artist on her first headlining tour, the “Midwest Princess Tour.”
Not only is queer music at the heart of Roan’s tour, but so is queer fashion.
Over the past few years, themed costumes for live concerts have become increasingly popular.
Taylor Swift's “The Eras Tour,” Harry Styles’s “Love On Tour,” and Beyonce’s “Renaissance Tour” all set the stage for what a concert costume looks like. Some fans dress up as specific songs or lyrics from an artist or match their outfits to the cover picture of the album.
In Roan’s case, she leaned into the idea of a concert costume when she announced on Instagram that each of her tour dates would have a dress-up theme based on songs from her album.
Concert-goer Miranda MacLean wears pearl heart makeup and devil horns.
One theme was based on her song “Pink Pony Club,” where the audience would dress in pink cowgirl attire. Another one of her hit songs, “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” was a space-alien theme that focused on silver and sparkles.
For the Cincinnati concert, the theme was based on the song “My Kink Is Karma.” As a sexy, petty ballad about relishing in an ex’s misfortunes, the song lends itself to bold costumes. With her theme announcement, Roan posted photos in devil horns and red lingerie.
The outfits at her concert certainly lived up to the theme, with many fans wearing black and red leather harnesses, mesh, devil horns and corsets. Other audience members wore red boas, cowboy hats and anything with a heart print. Leather and lace were central materials to a majority of outfits at this venue.
Ohio State University alumni, Molly Geissman, Hannah Myers and Abby Truman wear matching devil horns.
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Queer fashion is often associated with blending masculine and feminine clothing, broadening the idea of who can wear what. At the Roan concert, the confidence and self-expression that comes with queer fashion were key to many of the outfits.
Fans also followed the theme when it came to makeup. Audience members wore heavy blush, dark black eyeliner and clown makeup. One fan even arranged pearls on their face to replicate the specific makeup look Roan wore in her “My Kink Is Karma” music video. Makeup was worn by any gender at this concert — men, women and nonbinary people could be seen with sparkly blue eyeshadow or a bold red lip.
University of Dayton student, Caroline Sullivan, wears a red bedazzled top and heart makeup.
Roan herself always dresses up for the theme as well. At the concert, she wore a black and red bedazzled leotard with fishnets and black gogo boots.
Much of Roan’s music often mentions the importance of fashion too, usually in a humorous manner. While the audience sang the lyrics to “My Kink Is Karma” at the concert, the lyric “No need to be hateful in your fake Gucci sweater” was sung by countless fans dressed in bedazzled red clothes.
Cincinnati locals, Maisy Armstrong and Oscar Velasquez, match in red cowboy hats and glowing heart necklaces.
After noticing the fan in the red speedo and complimenting the audience on their outfits, Roan spoke about the unique experience of performing in Ohio. Particularly, she spoke about how the midwest influences or restricts queerness, mentioning how her concert can be an escape for many young closeted queer people.
“It’s pretty wild to feel this way in the midwest,” Roan said in this video from the concert. “...I hope you know you can be whatever you want here…it’s ok to be queer here.”
shaffea8@miamioh.edushaffea8@miamioh.edu
Chappell Roan performed her song “My Kink Is Karma” in a red leotard and black gogo boots.
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