Of all the celebrity fashion trends out there, the chainmail or chain link look is definitely one of my favorites. There’s something so powerful about wearing metal, and celebs have given us impressive red carpet moments like Lupita Nyong'o with her silver breast plate and Miley Cyrus’ dress of 14,000 safety pins. Rachel Zegler certainly captured that same essence of strength at the Laurence Olivier Awards on Sunday, donning a chain link dress that was as romantic as it was fierce.
Rachel Zegler not only performed at this week’s awards ceremony, but she took home the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in Evita. The trophy wasn’t the only metal accessory the actress carried, though, as her dress featured gold chain links of varying size along her shoulders and waist. She showed off the look on Instagram:
In fact, it was no coincidence that Rachel Zegler chose to include some metal on her Olivier Award outfit. She told Harper’s Bazaar that in addition to separating herself a bit from Eva Perón, the Tamara Ralph gown held deeper meaning:
I also felt like choosing a dress with some hardware was a way of manifesting coming home with some hardware – aka an award – too!
Hey, whatever works. The chains fell off of her shoulder and down her arm, creating a neckline of mostly chain across her bust. The detailing flowed out from the center, creating the essence of a peplum at her waist. See more Instagram images of the dress, and from her evening at the London awards show:
Rachel Zegler is always one to watch when it comes to fashion. The Snow White star can pull off anything from a casual backless sweater to a scandalously see-through pink dress that shows off her lavender lingerie. She can go super classic in the perfect LBD or drop jaws looking like a stunning Greek goddess.
So how does the West Side Story’s chain look compare to other celebrities’ takes on the trend? The use of gold chain as detailing over her floor-length gown definitely gives softer vibes than, say, Zendaya’s C-3PO-esque getup at the Dune: Part Two premiere or Dakota Johnson’s nearly nude chainmail gown.
Rachel Zegler’s been spending a lot of time in the theater lately. In addition to her 2025 role in Evita, she’s portrayed Juliet Capulet in Romeo + Juliet on Broadway and, most recently, Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years. She is set to return to the big screen, though, in the upcoming musical adaptation of Octet.
The star-studded cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sophomore directorial effort includes — in addition to Rachel Zegler — Hamilton vets Phillipa Soo and Jonathan Groff, Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo, Tramell Tillman of Severance, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Amanda Seyfried and Paul-Jordan Jansen.
With rehearsals just starting, it’s unlikely that the movie will be ready in time to hit the 2026 movie release calendar, and unfortunately, I’m not sure this project will allow Zegler the opportunity for another romantic metal look ... until the red carpet premiere, at least!
