Last night, the VMAs red carpet achieved something it hasn’t in a very long time, by delivering a handful of actually quite solid looks. In previous years, things haven’t always turned out too great for our motley crew of A-list celebs, who often misinterpret the event’s racy red carpet past as free reign to dress as out of pocket as possible. When you think about it, though, that’s the real problem with the VMAs: its past.

For the best part of a decade, or possibly even more, the VMAs has operated solely as a beacon of nostalgia, a self-referential feedback loop obsessed with its former glory. In large part, the VMAs continued relevance seems to hinge on the fact that it was once a culture-making event, something that was all the more apparent at the awards’ 40th anniversary ceremony. We saw it last night as host Megan Thee Stallion presented in Britney Spears cosplay complete with yellow snake, or as Houston rapper Glorilla ascended the red carpet as TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez, or in a fan-voted category that pitted “iconic” past moments against one another. Even the night’s central performance – from the winner of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award – sees its recipient rehash their most famous songs into a 12-minute medley with pyro and a flash mob.

That’s why it feels so refreshing when we see people who actually think outside of the box. This year, that person was Chappell Roan, who arrived at the ceremony in a sheer Y/Project gown, a sage velvet robe and menacing metal talons. The look was topped off by Roan’s signature oshiroi-inspired make-up, a heraldic crucifix and an actual sword, swapping her Midwest moniker to instead become a warrior princess. The singer’s red carpet theatrics – ones that included a knight escort and posing on a old-timey rug – added another layer to the performance, and though it’s not the first time we’ve seen something like that happen on a carpet (see: Lady Gaga), Roan’s commitment to actualising her Chappell avatar is much more interesting than rehashing the last 40 years of VMAs fashion, however “iconic” it may be. And later on in the night, Roan switched into a metallic Rabanne creation to accept her Best New Artist award, another reminder that she’s hear to stay, no matter how many ill-advised photographers tell her to shut up.

Scroll through the gallery above to see our pick of the best looks.