Wherever Taylor Swift goes, a gaggle of impossibly beautiful, talented women follow. This is the girl squad, a concept that Taylor has essentially owned since 2015, when she featured her extensive rolodex of besties in the music video for Bad Blood.
We all know about Swift’s Los Angeles squad, as evidenced by the memorable Super Bowl images of February 2024, featuring the most bizarre mish-mash of A-listers the mind could possibly think of (because what did Ice Spice and Blake Lively have to talk about?). But who’s keeping the star company now that she’s landed in London for the British leg of the Eras tour?
This question was answered on Tuesday night, when Swift arrived at a Casa Cruz restaurant in Notting Hill with a flock of famous friends. It was, as per Swift’s usual style, a random assortment of female celebrities, like a Revels chocolate packet of fame, including some genuine head-scratchers (since when was she friends with Kate Moss?). One can only assume she called around the houses like Tony Stark assembling the Avengers.
In case you’re confused, here’s a who’s who of Taylor Swift’s London girl squad, and some explanation on how they all ended up in one room.
Cara Delevingne
One of the longest serving members of Taylor’s London girl squad is model and actor Cara Delevingne, 31, who has been friends with the singer for many years and also makes up part of her Los Angeles friendship group, when the pair are both stateside. Last week, Taylor went on an undercover visit to watch Delevingne perform in her West End show Cabaret, where she plays Sally Bowles, before heading to Edinburgh for her first round of UK gigs. The close friends reunited again at Casa Cruz this week, as Swift takes a few days off from the Eras tour. Delevingne left the restaurant with designer Stella McCartney, McCartney’s daughter Bailey, and Delevingne’s girlfriend, the singer Minke.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Also present was screenwriter and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge, of whom Swift was a notable fan before she was a friend. When Waller-Bridge made the Time 100 list of the most influential people in 2020, Swift wrote her glowing endorsement for the magazine. “A combination of razor-sharp instincts, killer wit and genuine care for the people she works with proved to be a winning hand,” she penned, alongside praising her as “iconic” and “a big mood”. The pair also appeared on an episode of Saturday Night Live together, with Waller-Bridge as the host and Swift as the musical guest. Now, the pair are close, and though Waller-Bridge arrived with Stella McCartney, she left in a taxi with her partner Martin McDonagh, and the Hot Priest himself, Andrew Scott.
Stella McCartney
The fashion designer and daughter of Paul McCartney was another guest at Swift’s Casa Cruz bash, arriving alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge. McCartney has been close with Swift for years and the duo even collaborated on a merchandise line together in celebration of Swift’s album Lover. McCartney also created a series of one-off sustainable pieces for Taylor to wear whilst promoting her Evermore and Folklore albums, and its not unknown for Swift to rep the designer’s garments amongst her street style looks.
Andrew Scott
Swifties will go mad over this attendee, considering that he was once a very good friend of Swift’s ex-boyfriend — the London Boy muse himself, Joe Alwyn. In fact, Scott was one of the three men involved in the “Tortured Man Club” groupchat alongside Alwyn and Paul Mescal. The name for the group chat is believed to have provided inspiration for Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. What a tangled web she weaves.
Kate Moss
It appears Stella McCartney is the glue in this group, with Swift’s next girl gang member clearly influenced by her longtime best pal Stella’s attendance. Kate Moss arrived at Casa Cruz on Tuesday night wearing an ivory, satin skirt-suit and fishnet tights, in classic Mossy fashion. Prior to this event, the pair were not known to be friends, though this could be Taylor’s attempt to broaden her London social circle. I too wish I could invite Kate Moss whenever I want to broaden my London social circle, so who can blame her?
Lena Dunham
Another long term Taylor friend is Lena Dunham, who was initially part of her original American girl group and even featured amongst the crop of besties in the Bad Blood music video. Dunham, who created the critically acclaimed HBO series Girls, has lived in London ever since she married her Peruvian-British husband in 2021. The pair’s friendship spans over a decade, and the two have openly praised each other numerous times for their work. “This is a love note to Taylor Swift,” Dunham wrote on Instagram in 2018, “I was a fan before I was a friend and her music formed the soundtrack to so much love and loss and discovery — late nights writing and early mornings weepy on the way to work.”
Two thirds of the Haim sisters
Also present were Este and Danielle Haim, two thirds of the sister-trio band Haim, with whom Taylor is close friends. The missing sister is Alana, star of Licorice Pizza. Haim and Swift are regular collaborators, with Haim providing support for Taylor’s previous tours. They have released two musical collaborations, Gasoline and No Body No Crime, and Haim also appeared as the “ugly stepsisters” in Swift’s video for Bejewelled.
Chrissie Hynde
Then came Chrissie Hynde, the American-British musician best known for her work as frontwoman of The Pretenders. This might seem like quite a departure from Swift’s typical girl squad lineup, but Hynde’s presence is once again explainable by Stella McCartney. McCartney and Hynde are close friends, and Hynde even recorded a bespoke song for McCartney’s “Stella Nude” perfume advert.
