Since the first London leg of Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour kicked off on June 21, the capital has been firmly in the grip of Swiftie mania, and ahead of the pop star returning for five more nights at Wembley next month, the V&A is getting in on the mayhem.
Its new Songbook Trail, which officially opens in full on Saturday takes fans on a free whistle stop tour of her two decades in the limelight. There are, of course, 13 stops on the tour in honour of the musician’s lucky number, and iconic costumes, archive photographs and other meaningful objects from Swift’s various artistic eras are scattered across the entire museum.
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Ahead of the trail opening, senior curator of theatre and performance Kate Bailey gave us a sneak peek. “We can’t compete with the stadium tour,” she said, unlocking a textiles archive vault which is usually closed off to the public, but currently houses the golden ball gown Swift wore in her Bejeweled music video, the Ulla Johnson-designed white shirt worn on the Taylor’s Version album artwork for Fearless, and the Oscar de la Renta crystal dress Swift wore as she announced Midnights at the MTV Music Awards. “What we can offer is a more intimate, theatrical encounter.”
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The trail, which runs in non-chronological order, begins with the Lover era, and Swift’s costume from her music video for The Man sits between two statues of the Roman goddesses Diana and Venus, and against the backdrop of Valhalla mosaics, all by male artists. Swift’s costume, a drag outfit, takes on playful new meaning here.
From here, the trail – created by Bailey and the team over several months – leads onto the serpent motifs of the Reputation era. Usually this room is home to Antonio Canova’s neoclassical sculpture The Three Graces, but has temporarily made way for Swift’s Jessica Jones designed costumes from the album tour. It feels fitting, Bailey remarks, to showcase female creativity in a space which is usually dedicated to muses. Swift’s self-titled debut also has its own chapter, featuring her old Koa acoustic guitar, and the dress and custom cowboy boots she wore on the 2007 Soul II Soul tour.
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Winding through the museum, the tour makes good use of its existing spaces – the gilded 1870s music room of Norfolk House has been chosen to complement the aesthetics of Speak Now. A period gown from the Fearless world tour peers down from a Romeo and Juliet style balcony in a smart nod to the lyrics of Love Story, while a gallery filled with Constable and Turner landscapes is now home to a moss-covered piano and the original knitwear that appears in the Cardigan music video, draped on the stool as if it has just been discarded. Bringing living moss into the V&A, Bailey quips “is a museum first”
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As the second leg of the Eras tour rumbles into London, capitalising on Swift’s following is a savvy move from the V&A. But their tribute is also incredibly well put together. Bailey and her team have managed to acquire an impressive selection of items from Swift’s personal archive, which is displayed thoughtfully, and in dialogue with the museum’s collections - whether you’re a friendship bracelet touting day one Swiftie or more of an intrigued fair-weather fan with a passing interest, this trail is well worth a look.
