Calling all Swifties! London's V&A Museum is presenting a trail featuring a curated collection of costumes, guitars, and other memorabilia from Swift's extensive career.
ADVERTISEMENTTaylor Swift fans who missed her world tour or those who simply can’t get enough of her can catch her at London's Victoria and Albert Museum this summer.
In a special celebration of her double run of sold-out shows in London on her record-breaking Eras Tour, real items from Swift’s different musical eras have been integrated into galleries at the museum.
Costumes, guitars and other memorabilia from the pop star's archive have been curated into a “Songbook Trail” that opens on Saturday 27 July and runs until 8 September 2024.
“There’s so many really iconic objects and looks worn by Taylor across her career from her breakout moment in country," said Kate Bailey, senior curator of theatre and performance at the V&A. “It’s wonderful to be able to share her musicality and her microphone. So, many, many things.”
The exhibit is not the first museum treatment of Swift. Last summer, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City presented “Taylor Swift: Storyteller,” featuring a different array of costumes and objects spanning her career.
Die-hard Swifties may recognise items in a display case dating back to an early tour in 2007 when she was a supporting act: pale blue heart-adorned cowboy boots, turquoise dress and a Taylor acoustic guitar made of koa wood.
The exhibits are set among priceless works in a museum that houses collections of art, fashion, photography, furniture, performance, architecture, and ceramics.
A purple skirt and pink and green sequined jacket from the 2015 tour of her Grammy-winning 1989 album are in a case next to a painting by the High Renaissance artist Raphael. A sweater from the 'Cardigan' video from her 'folklore' album sits in front of a piano in a gallery of landscape paintings.
The Cinderella-like yellow gown from the 'Bejewelled' music video from the 'Midnights' album is displayed in the Prince Consort Gallery. A stage costume from her Reputation Tour, complete with snake microphone, is in the British Gallery.
“The V&A feels like the perfect stage for a Taylor Swift trail," Bailey said. "I think there’s so many touchpoints within Taylor’s work that respond to art, literature, history. There’s so many ways that we can kind of interpret and layer and present Taylor’s work here.”
The Taylor Swift “Songbook Trail” opens on Saturday 27 July and runs until 8 September 2024 at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
