Taylor Swift's 'The Eras Tour' inspires free art show at London's V&A

Taylor Swift performing during “The Eras Tour” at Veltins Arena on July 17, 2024, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Andreas Rentz/TAS24 | Getty Images

Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” has helped the singer become a billionaire and boosted the economies of the multiple cities she’s performed in. Fans attending her U.K. shows spent upward of $1,000 each on tickets, accommodation and travel.

Now, a new Taylor Swift show is coming to London — and it’s free.

Starting Saturday, July 27, the U.K. capital’s Victoria & Albert Museum (known as the V&A South Kensington) will exhibit Swift’s “looks,” including gowns, custom cowboy boots and ballet shoes, as well as musical instruments. The collection will be on display until Sept. 8.

The V&A’s “Songbook Trail” will display 13 installations, each exploring an era of Swift’s career. The Victorian-inspired black dress she wore in the video for her 2024 song “Fortnight” features in the exhibit, as well as a lavender tulle dress from her 2023 “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” album cover. A total of 16 outfits will be shown.

Personal items from Swift’s early career are also included, such as the costume she wore during her 2008 “Fearless” tour to perform “Love Story,” and the Taylor Koa guitar from the “Soul2Soul II” tour in 2006-07.

The V&A’s “Taylor Swift: Songbook Trail”

The Oscar de la Renta gown Taylor Swift wore for the Los Angeles premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film in October, 2023. The installation is part of the V&A museum’s “Songbook Trail.”

V&A

The exhibit includes costumes and other items from Swift’s personal archive, and is designed to show the singer’s “celebrated looks,” according to the V&A’s Kate Bailey, senior curator for theater and performance. It is being shown in the museum’s permanent galleries.

A black, Victorian-style dress worn by Taylor Swift in the music video for “Fortnight” is displayed at the V&A’s “Songbook Trail” exhibit.

V&A

“Each intimate encounter will celebrate a chapter in the artist’s musical journey. Taylor Swift’s songs like objects tell stories, often drawing from art, history and literature,” Bailey said in an emailed statement. “We hope this specially created theatrical trail across the museum will inspire the imagination of curious visitors as they discover more about the performer, her creativity and V&A objects,” she added.

Outfits worn by Taylor Swift on her “1989” tour, displayed as part of the V&A’s “Songbook Trail” exhibit in London.

V&A

Swift was just 16 when she released solo album “Taylor Swift,” and performed during country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw’s “Soul2Soul II Tour” that year. The V&A exhibit includes a frilled, turquoise dress she wore during the tour.

The turquoise dress and custom cowboy boots worn by Taylor Swift on the “Soul2Soul II” tour in 2006, at the V&A’s “Songbook Trail” exhibit. Also shown is the Taylor Koa guitar she played.

V&A

In 2010, Swift released “Speak Now,” which reflects on her transition to adulthood. It became one of several albums re-recorded under a “Taylor’s Version” moniker, a move Swift made in an effort to control her own master recordings. The lavender dress she wore on the back cover of the “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” album is displayed, along with a ukulele she played on the “Speak Now World Tour.”

A dress worn by Taylor Swift on the back cover of her “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” album.

V&A

The exhibition also includes a cardigan Swift wore during a 2020 music video of the same name and a red gown by American-Japanese designer Tadashi Shoji that she wore in the music video for 2021 song “I Bet You Think About Me.”