Chappell Roan’s Newsprint Nails Are An Ode to An ’80s Icon—See the Photos

Getty ImagesSave StorySave this storySave StorySave this story

Who's in the headlines today? Chappell Roan—and her nails—that's who! The Grammy-winning musician paid homage to one of her personal icons, Cyndi Lauper, with a head-to-toe look inspired by the iconic pop star, and in true Roan fashion, absolutely no detail went unnoticed.

Roan, who inducted Lauper into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, channeled the star in an outfit inspired by two separate scenes from the “True Colors" music video, including a newspaper skirt made of long, fluttering strips of newsprint by Efrain Nava and an enormous, showgirl-esque bedazzled headpiece. She mimicked the newsprint pattern on her nails, with teeny strips of newsprint applied to each nail in varying patterns.

Roan's manicure was the work of nail artist Rachel Sun, also known as All Hail Thy Nail, who shaped Roan's nails into long, square tips and painted them a pearly, milky white shade to serve as a neutral backdrop for the ornate nail art. Each nail featured a unique newspaper motif, including a full newsprint pattern on her ring and pointer fingers. On Roan's pinkies and thumbs, Sun applied the newspaper print like a French manicure, then covered the tip in pearls and hung a skinny string of pearls from the tips for a pierced effect. Roan's middle fingers were the most detailed of them all; Sun crafted an oversized floral bow from the same newspaper strips and applied it to the center of Roan's nails for an extra touch of whimsy, again adding pearls to the center.

Getty ImagesGetty Images

Roan gave a heartfelt speech about Lauper's impact on her career during the ceremony and continued shouting out the star on Instagram after the show. “She has played an instrumental role in my artistry, fashion, glam, voice, movement, all of it,” Roan wrote of Lauper. “I look up to her so very much. I sang 'True Colors; in a talent show when I was 14 and I ended up winning first place for first time!! It was the first moment I thought maybe singing could be a thing for me. Thank you… for laying the groundwork for artists like me to thrive."