Swift continues to demonstrate her refusal to conform to trends through her tour looks.
When Taylor Swift threw on a sparkly Versace blazer at her “Eras” tour to belt the lyrics to “The Man,” it was no surprise that the crowd of nearly 70,000 fans erupted into screams. Just like her choice to open the concert with her first fully owned album, Swift’s wardrobe was methodical — an assertion of her power not only in her own music and the music industry itself but in her narrative, the one she has wielded for over 15 years.
“You’re making me feel like I could do anything I wanted and people would think it was cool,” Swift said ironically in her speech to “The Man,” as she strutted across the stage in a matching pair of sparkly knee-high Christian Louboutin boots.
Swift’s outfits thus far on her “Eras” tour are full of bright colors, sequins and sparkles — a continuing embrace of traditionally feminine motifs in her attire. Despite not being an obviously radical choice, in a time where fashion designers create clothes that adapt to trends, veering towards minimalism and grungy, Swift’s hyper-feminine wardrobe might be one of her most revolutionary qualities.
“The general mood in fashion design right now is not one that embraces traditionally "pretty" clothes; many are trying to make things that are interesting or boundary-pushing, which more often than not precludes prettiness,” said fashion journalist Tyler McCall. “There's just also the desire to fit in with what's cool now.”
If “cool” in fashion industry jargon equates to recent runway trends, Swift’s Nicole + Felicia crystal ball gown she wore while belting “Enchanted” is the antithesis of the freshest runway shows. In December 2022, British Vogue reported the arrival of “grunge 2.0.” Designers’ spring/summer 2023 collections showcased fishnet tops, combat boots, and chunky leather belts and were reminiscent of 1990s Drew Barrymore and Winona Rider.
Despite not always coordinating with the latest fashion cues, Swift unrepentantly maintains her identity and values through her wardrobe.
In her 2019 documentary, Miss Americana, Swift said, "I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink and tell you how I feel about politics. I don't think those things have to cancel each other out.”
Through her attire, Swift is pushing back against the narrative that a woman has to tone down her femininity to be taken seriously and is emphasizing that femininity and power/intelligence can coexist — they’re not mutually exclusive.
“We haven't even begun to unpack all of the ways that women in women's history have been impacted by not only the patriarchy but, even as time goes on, as we make changes, also internalized misogyny,” said Alyssa Kelly, a fashion editor for L’Officiel.
Swift never altered the essence of her style or forced herself to follow trends, despite falling victim to sexism within the music industry. To close her concert, Swift fittingly sports an Oscar de la Renta midnight-blue leotard with beaded fringe and thousands of crystals to declare how she is a “mastermind.” Swift stuck to her craft, proclaiming her truth and identity through her music and her style. Now, the hundreds of millions of Swift’s unwavering supporters — many of which are in attendance for the “Eras” tour — silence her skeptics.
“People like that she is different,” said NYU junior Sherin Yueksel. “We connect with her because of her writing and love her already, so she can make it work even if it doesn’t follow the standards of what female artists today do. She does a really good job connecting with her audience with her music alone, but the fact she did it differently than anyone else makes us love her more.”