Drop everything Now. Taylor Swift, who reportedly broke up with Joe Alwyn, was photographed Thursday in New York in a formation instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with her knowledge: She’s once again surrounded by her team.
Swift was spotted walking down the sidewalk alongside an enviable example of her gorgeous, famous friends: the Haim brothers (Danielle, Este and Alana), model Gigi Hadid, and actress Blake Lively.
In other words, these are not just acquaintances. These are close relationships. This is a girls team. Doesn’t matter, does it? Wrong.
Throughout the pandemic and the entirety of her extremely private, six-year relationship with reclusive Alwyn, Swift could be counted on to be photographed by the paparazzi perhaps once a year. Typically masked or gloved, the two wore matching Hunter boots or casual hiking gear, alongside her frowning boyfriend.
But in the two weeks since news of her split from Alwyn, Swift has hit the town hard, always being stylish and always surrounded by her famous friends. And always, with ease, in front of the paparazzi. First he had a dinner date with producer Jack Antonoff and his fiancee, Margaret Qualley; then there was another trip with Lively and Ryan Reynolds; and now we have this mini sidewalk fashion show with six impeccably dressed stars led by Swift.
Swift hasn’t been seen like this in public—single, on camera, with celebrity friends—since the height of her pre-Alwyn era. 1989 The era is an iconic yet divisive time. According to her critics, Girl Squad Taylor was perhaps the pinnacle of Swift’s audacity. Photos of the pop star, accompanied by swarms of leggy models, inspired nearly 1 million thought pieces debating whether the team was feminist, anti-feminist, both, none or all.
For another good example of this era, consider the epic (and equally polarizing) 4th of July parties Swift hosted annually at her sprawling Rhode Island mansion from 2013 to 2018. Swift has invited members of her touring company to each summer feast. Longtime besties like Lively and the Haim girls, and a carefully selected group of additional celebrity friends: Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Nick and Joe Jonas, Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, St. Vincent, Josh Kushner… you get the idea. Almost everyone agreed that the team was annoying, the parties were smug, and Swift herself was intolerable.
All evidence of these patriotic outbursts was deleted from Swift’s Instagram to prompt her retaliation. Reputation But after a few years and the Grammys, a cultural reassessment of Swift’s work, and a major breakup, it looks like the team days are back. Will the return of the 4th of July parties follow? Has the broadcast been re-recorded? 1989 (Taylor’s Version) Also on the way? Hopefully we’ll find out in the coming months.
But for now, the team’s return seems to mark a shift in the Swift universe. This is a megastar known for planning everything and carefully crafting his image – a power or a nuisance depending on who you ask – and who wouldn’t have let the paparazzi get caught in their lens so often. With the larger purpose being photographed surrounded by friends on Thursday, he makes a visual reference to a time when the general public could no longer be bothered by him. the whole thing. And in doing so, he communicates that public opinion is irrelevant to him at this stage.
The 33-year-old and single is on track to become one of the highest-grossing concert tours in history. If that’s not a feminist, what is? (Don’t answer that.)