Taylor Swift has spent her career world-building through her music and her wardrobe. As she sings in the opening couplet of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, every album comes with a “new aesthetic.” With an assist from her longtime stylist, Joseph Cassell, Swift channels her project’s sound through a dress code of her own design (including Easter eggs for fans to decode). Fearless’s country chart-toppers came with fringed dresses and cowboy boots; 1989’s pop-crossover moment manifested in crop tops and sky-high heels; and when Swift retreated into the alt-indie woods for folklore (and evermore), she transformed again in willowy dresses and a cable-knit cardigan.
Last week, Swift surfaced from cosplaying her past selves on the Eras Tour to deliver the next chapter in her discography. Many wondered what a rushed artistic statement from one of the world’s biggest stars would look and sound like before it arrived. (Midnights, Swift's previous album defined by a hazy ‘70s aesthetic, only debuted in October 2022.) Nearly one week after its release, it appears her Tortured Poets' goal was to be more vulnerable than ever—with clothing to mirror how "tortured" she feels inside.
