What’s Behind the Sudden Surge of Gladiator-Inspired Celebrity Style?
Even Zendaya isn’t sure if she’s “cut out” for fame. The superstar has admitted she uses fashion “like armor” as a result. It seems she’s not the only one, and lately a movement of celebrities wearing items that almost classify as actual suits of armor has emerged.
In between the typically sheer and glitzy red carpet styles, a new trend has entered the red carpet coliseum: medieval-inspired gladiator wear. It takes inspiration from the Dark Ages, but with enough razzle-dazzle and fantasy to make it work fo any actress or pop star. Think heaps of blinged-out chainmail, gold and silver embroidery, and protective, statement shoulders that could poke someone’s eye out. It’s being dubbed as Medieval Weird Core or “Weirdeval” on TikTok, but the style has even bigger implications on the red carpet and beyond.
Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri nodded to the phenomenon for the French brand’s June cruise 2025 show, presenting a series of gothic styles against the landscape of a Scottish castle. The collection quickly popped up on the radars of celebrity stylists. Natalie Portman donned a sheer chainmail dress with a slick cinched belt and puff sleeves to the Deauville Film Festival in September—just a few days later, she wore another look from the collection during Paris Fashion Week. Portman usually sticks to Dior’s tea-length and more feminine offerings, but these particular outfits had a haunted glamour unlike her usual choices.
Prior to Portman, Taylor Swift picked out one of the collection’s patterned corset capes to wear to the MTV VMAs. Though Swifties interpreted the fashion choice as an indication that Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is imminent, it’s also worth noting the inspiration behind Chiuri’s collection. She looked to Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power, the Clare Hunter novel about the maligned and misunderstood Mary Stuart. Some might think it’s a stretch to compare Swift, the pinnacle of modern superstardom, with 16th century Royalty. But it’s certainly notable that Swift decided to wear this particular dress, from this particular collection, at this particular moment.
Swift publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race on September 10, less than 24 hours before appearing on the VMAs red carpet. Her endorsement sparked backlash from right-leaning pundits—many who implored Swift to “stay out” of politics—and even caused Harris’s opponent Donald Trump to write “I hate Taylor Swift” on social media.
It shouldn’t be lost then that Swift and many of her celebrity counterparts are dressing in protective, almost armor-like clothing during an election year—especially when access to reproductive healthcare and autonomy is at stake. That same night during the VMAs, Chappell Roan sent perhaps an even bolder message through fashion.
The singer emerged on the red carpet in a sheer Y/Project confection that she dressed up with a 300-year old robe, silver tin boots, and dagger-like nails. She even carried a sharp sword and was flanked by a bodyguard in matching medieval garb. Dressed in a full suit of armor, Roan later performed her upbeat song “Good Luck Babe!” next to a cadre of dancing knights while shooting a flaming arrow out of a crossbow. She ended her night by accepting an award dressed in a metal mesh Rabanne outfit and a matching head veil. The brand’s designer Julien Dossena is perhaps the most prominent example of medevial-esque runway fashion nowadays—his use of chainmail, of course, harkens back to the brand’s founder—but similar protective-like pieces have been seen on the runways of brands like Prada and Dior this spring season.
Roan’s quartet of outfits followed comments she made about “predatory” fan behavior which she said had “become normalized because of the way women who are well-known had been treated in the past.” The singer’s comments received mixed reception on the Internet, but were quickly commended both publicly and privately by stars like Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga.
Chainmail and medieval style have even made way to the celebrity press tour circuit where the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy (in some themed trophy vintage during a Furiosa red carpet) and Lily Collins have tried out the look. The words of the late great photographer Bill Cunningham ring true: “Fashion is the armor to survive everyday life.”
