Have you ever wondered what glam hair look a plumber would serve before taking on the task of unclogging a kitchen drain? Would inserting an IV hurt any less if your nurse sported the hair of a ’70s supermodel? Chappell Roan knows you’re curious—and explored those blue- and white-collar fantasies in looks to promote her forthcoming new music, “The Giver.”
“So, baby / When you need the job done / You can call me, baby,” Roan sings. For the job to get done right, she needed the glam to go with each of her drag worker moments: lawyer (or as Chappell put it, “your ex’s worst nightmare”), plumber, detective, nurse, and construction worker. So the Midwest Princess turned to Jaime Edenilson Diaz, a first-generation Salvadoran American artist based in Los Angeles and a multihyphenate visual artist who works primarily in hair, makeup, and image making, to help create the promotional images.
“I’d like to say my approach to visuals is creating new-age classics that stand the test of time and create a space for imagination to flow,” Diaz—who has also worked with Poppy, Parris Goebel, Beabadoobee, and Lil Nas X—tells Vogue. Diaz took a general creative brief from Roan’s team, which includes stylist Genesis Webb and creative director Ramisha Sattar, and put his own twist on it. Makeup artist Nick Lennon, who has worked with Charli XCX, rounded out the glam with feathery lashes and a glossy, saucy brick red lip.
For the stern lawyer and detective looks, Diaz created a tight, slick, and equally austere updo. “I used no heat,” Diaz explains. “It was water, gel, mousse, and a dream.” Plus some Balmain hair products, the stylist’s favorite.
“I slicked the hair back as sleek as I could get it, and once it was snatched back, I started to twirl and place the hair in a modern take on a classic updo. Once that was in place, I adorned it with one curl that waterfalls from the crown down.”
For the second look, our boots-on-the-ground builder and plumber, Diaz breaks it down: “I brushed out the first look and used a center part. I used water so it was easy to brush out the products. I created a slight wave starting at her temples to frame her face, then created the two pigtails. For the pigtails I enhanced her gorgeous natural curl and then added the slightest details that helped me blow up her hair but also added a cool texture with a good ol’ crimper.”
On the mood board were images of ’70s supermodels and theatrical wigs. “I try to take something classic and add a modern twist,” Diaz says.
His favorite part of working with Roan? She trusts the process—even when there’s yards and yards of ginger extensions lining the glam table. (Which they actually didn’t have to use because Roan had the legitimate lengths herself). “[I love her] artistic approach to everything, and that then is magnified by her team and then the work itself. This is why you just can’t get enough!”
You only have to look back at Roan’s first Paris Fashion Week run to see what Diaz is talking about: a drag-inspired smoky eye at Rabanne, an alien-esque beauty metamorphosis for the Rick Owens show, a knife-sharp blush and cut crease at Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Vivienne Westwood, Nosferatu–indebted glam for McQueen, and a pink pastel vaudevillian visage for Valentino. Her go-to makeup artist, Andrew Dahling, made it all happen.
The vibes on set? “Immaculate,” says Diaz of his first time working with Roan. “I’d have to say, getting to work with such a supernova like Chappell and her sharing herself, not just as Chappell but as Kayleigh, is something I always cherish as an artist. A slight glimpse into the personification of what makes a grand artist like Chappell Roan not only is so special, but also gives a clear vision into the world that they’ve created for themselves.” As “The Giver” goes, it’s just in her nature!
