The V&A is at present exhibiting 16 looks worn by the 14-time Grammy Award winning artist, Taylor Swift. This is part of a free trail celebrating Taylor.
After opening on 27 July, Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail will mark the success of Taylor's UK tour and celebrate the creativity of her costumes, lyrics and music videos and explore the global phenomena of the pop icon. The costumes sit alongside instruments, music awards, storyboards and previously unseen archival material which will explore her childhood and recording legacy, many on display for the first time.
Each of the 13 stops on the trail will showcase a chapter in the songbook of Taylor's career and spotlight a particular era of her music and prolific songwriting. Costume and accessories on loan from Taylor's personal archive are on display, from customised cowboy boots worn during her breakout success as a country singer in 2007, to the jet-black ruffled shoulder dress worn in the most recent music video for her single Fortnight, from the critically adored album The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Each intervention will present some of Taylor's most iconic looks in dialogue with its unique setting in the V&A collection and will draw synergies with the V&A objects on display, as well as the architecture of the building.
Kate Bailey, Senior Curator, Theatre & Performance, said: "We are delighted to be able to display a range of iconic looks worn by Taylor Swift at the V&A this summer. Each celebrating a chapter in the artist's musical journey. Taylor Swift's songs like objects tell stories, often drawing from art, history and literature. We hope this theatrical trail across the museum will inspire curious visitors to discover more about the performer, her creativity and V&A objects." The trail will take visitors on a winding journey through the V&A's permanent galleries and present some of Taylor's most iconic looks in dialogue with spaces and objects in the collection. It will also give visitors the opportunity to dive into the artist's personal world and creativity, celebrating her ground-breaking impact on the world stage and the phenomenon of the 'Swiftie' fandom.
Designed by award-winning designer Tom Piper - best known for his stage designs for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as his Tower of London poppies and V&A exhibition Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser - each installation is theatrically staged, bringing to life a different era of the pop icons musical career through set dressing, music video and sound.
