Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Era Debut Stuns in Look of the Week… See More

Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Era Debut Stuns in Look of the Week… See More

Taylor Swift is the latest pop star to embody the aesthetic of a Las Vegas showgirl.
With Taylor Swift, a new album unveils a new “era,” and a new era dictates a new costume. This time, she embodies the dazzling spirit of a Las Vegas dancer for her upcoming album “The Life of a Showgirl.”

It’s a far cry from the woolen overcoats and broderie-anglais dresses of “Folklore” (2020), or the copper baker boy hats of “Red” (2012). But on this record, Swift is interrogating an increasingly large part of her life — her experience as a world-famous pop star and lacquered performer. In 2024, her “Era’s Tour,” which took place in 51 cities across 5 continents, became the highest-grossing tour of all time. On “New Heights,” the podcast her boyfriend Travis Kelce runs with his older brother Jason, Swift said she wrote the album during the tour’s European leg. “Literally living the life of a showgirl,” said Travis Kelce. “It’s the life behind it all, it’s the life beyond the show,” said Swift.

On the cover of the record, the singer is dressed in a crystal embellished demi-bra with webs of jewels trailing down her torso and submerged in what appears to be a bathtub. In another image, she poses with her arms wide in another showgirl-inspired outfit covered in sparkling gems. But the sexed-up, glamorous costumes are juxtaposed with empty theatres and cold, green light, perhaps a nod to the quiet, lonelier moments after everybody has gone home.
While the decision to expose more skin in this way is a new direction for Swift as an artist, she isn’t the first performer to embrace the sartorial codes of this type of entertainer. In fact, she is in excellent company.

Modern-day pop stars have long referenced the image of the showgirl. Typically dating back to late 19th century Parisian music halls, chorus girls, burlesque or fan dancers were defined by their glamorous, often revealing, matching outfits. The Las Vegas showgirl, which later became its own brand entirely, is now more closely associated with crystalline cage bras, diamanté panties and tall feather headdresses.