Chappell Roan’s Burlesque SNL Look Took ‘500 Hours’ to Make — and Was Intended for a Different Performance (Exclusive)

Designer and TikTok creator Gunnar Deatherage talks with PEOPLE exclusively about how the burlesque-inspired look came together

Chappell Roan’s appearance on Saturday Night Live brought a new country song and plenty of fashion moments for the singer. However, it was the promo that featured one of her biggest outfits, an elaborate piece crafted by Project Runway alum Gunnar Deatherage.

Following the episode, Deatherage explained his process on TikTok and Instagram, revealing that the dramatic look (which included dragonfly wings jutting from her hips and a headpiece just as wide) was inspired by burlesque dancers from the 1900s.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Deatherage further details how he put together the extravagant costume for one of music’s biggest pop stars.

“It’s been such a gift, honestly, to create such cool, complex things and then let so many people see them,” Deatherage tells PEOPLE of crafting Roan’s look.

The burlesque-inspired getup Roan wore in the promo was originally slated for a performance at a music festival. However, Deatherage admits the plan for the outfit pivoted as it came together.

“As we kept building and the look kept evolving and getting cooler and more complex, it was apparent that this look needed to be seen in a more stationary moment, rather than jumping around on stage,” Deatherage says. “Because the last thing we wanted to do is prohibit Chappell from being able to be Chappell on stage — prohibit the magic.”

Deatherage explains the entire ensemble was put together in about a month; he and Katie Maimi worked on sewing the bodice and dramatic dragonfly wings jutting out from her hips, while Deatherage’s boyfriend, Christopher Minafo, created the dramatic headpiece. Between the three of them, the look took around 500 hours to complete.

“It’s actually the most complex look that we’ve done,” Deatherage says. “I think a lot of that was because… we were originally thinking that it had to hold up to an hour-long performance. So we really took those precautions to make sure that everything was made really beautifully.”

This isn’t the first look Deatherage has created for Chappell — he previously crafted her white swan ensemble for her interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which he says he had less than a week to turn around.

After seeing the singer’s Coachella performance, which pivoted her career on its rapid upward trajectory, Deatherage says he reached out to Roan’s stylist Genesis Webb (who he calls “a genius”) to inquire about working together.

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“I think she is so visionary, and she has made such fun calls on when costumes will have their best moment,” he says. “I trusted her [to make] the decision, and I think that it was really the right move after seeing how beautiful the promo [for SNL] came out.”

The independent designer hails from “Kentucky-ana,” recounting how he’s lived on both sides of the Ohio River, though he moved to Los Angeles as his career as a designer grew. Deatherage has had plenty of people follow him for his work with Roan, but Project Runway fans will remember him from seasons 9 and 10 as well as season 4 of All-Stars.

“I unfortunately got a little bit of the villain edit on my season,” Deatherage admits. “I was young, and I just was trying to make up for what I lacked in experience and talent as a self-taught designer with a little bit of attitude to propel me.”

“I think being on a reality TV show really prepared me for how to center myself and ground myself when I’m having a moment on the internet, or having a moment where I’m under a little bit of scrutiny,” he continues.

Deatherage is now a fully independent artist, thanks in part to his following of about six million people across his social media platforms. In addition to Roan, he’s designed looks for drag queen Pattie Gonia, 21c Museum Hotels founder Steve Wilson, and the red carpet outfit for The School for Good and Evil author Soman Chainani.

His bucket list for potential clients is long (and includes stars like Lili Reinhart and Kasey Musgraves), but having the platform to support himself as an independent designer has made these kinds of projects possible.

“I trust that [my clients] are going to wear the look in a way that’s going to be great for both of us, and they trust that I’m going to create a look that’s going to make them stand out,” he says.