The business of Taylor Swift

“This kind of project always has a significant impact on the general public. In the case of Taylor Swift, this is even more evident given her international impact,” shares Italian designer Alberta Ferretti, who made several flowing gowns for the ‘Folklore’/‘Evermore’ era. “Creating the outfits for The Eras Tour has brought us concrete results, both in terms of engagement on social media — the posts related to this project have been the most successful this year — and in terms of traffic to the brand’s e-commerce from users in the United States. The US market has gradually become our top market in terms of revenue, recording a growth of 34 per cent year-on-year, surpassing the Italian market.”

The power of relatability

And it’s not just Swift’s on-stage moments driving brand heat. Alongside the tour, over the last year she’s released an album, re-released previous albums (‘1989’ and ‘Speak Now’), and entered into a high-profile romance with Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce.

Unlike pop contemporaries such as Charli XCX or Dua Lipa, who lean into fashion and a specific aesthetic, working regularly with cool, young designers or attending fashion weeks, Swift isn’t necessarily known as a ‘fashion girl’. Though, Swift is, arguably, seen as more relatable and approachable because of this, and her dedicated fan base still propels any label she touches. And within the numerous discussions and deep dives of Swifties (the name given for her fans) across TikTok, X and Instagram, breaking away from the expertly defined (and oftentimes controlled) fashion and beauty brand deals have made her stand out in a playing field where celebrities aim to sell big.

“Taylor Swift is single-minded — her music and the tour are her signature, and her entire focus,” says Perfect Magazine founder and stylist Katie Grand. “While other artists are endorsing products and their brands, Swift is banking on the razor-sharp nucleus of music being first and foremost.”

According to Launchmetrics, Swift’s red carpet attendance across the awards season earlier this year generated a record-breaking MIV of $319.2 million, making her the most-mentioned celebrity figure across all six major ceremonies in 2024 (in reference to the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice, the Emmys, the Grammys, SAGs and the Oscars).

At the 2024 Grammys alone, Swift’s custom red carpet all-white Schiaparelli gown generated $6.8 million for the brand (the highest earned across the night). After 2023’s edition, her all-blue sparkling Roberto Cavalli look generated close to $3 million. During her appearance at this year’s Las Vegas Super Bowl, she triggered a social buzz worth over $180 million in MIV — a whopping 23 per cent share of the overall event value. Swift was on screen for less than a minute over the entirety of the event.

The Swift mastermind

Part of the reason for Swift’s impact has been in the way it is incorporated into her artistic persona. The singer is notoriously famous for utilising fashion as a smart way of interacting with her fans about her next moves. Dubbed ‘Easter eggs’, each outfit, accessory or visual cue has a meaning that links to the future of her upcoming projects and music, urging fans to engage on microscopic levels of analysis, while keeping her fan base on their toes. “I love to communicate through Easter eggs,” Swift told Entertainment Weekly. “I think the best messages are cryptic ones.”