Seated in front of a backdrop reminiscent of a floral watercolor painting — perhaps a reference to artist John Everett Millais’ Hamlet-inspired work “Ophelia,” which fans theorize influenced “The Fate of Ophelia” singer’s pose on her new album cover — Taylor Swift talks about the visual art of upcoming album The Life of a Showgirl in a promo clip released by her Taylor Nation team on Saturday (Sept. 20).
“The photo shoot that we did with Mert and Marcus [Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott] was so extraordinary and I was so happy with it that I just wanted the fans to have as many images from this sort of world, this album era, as possible,” Swift says in the brief video. “And so I really spent a lot of time figuring out how I could make the best vinyl product and the best packaging and the best CD experience that they could have.”
As Swift explains in the clip: “The CDs all have photo cards in them. The vinyls, they each have a poem inside of them, a unique poem. They’ve got more images than we ever planned to put in there.”
The Life of a Showgirl has so far been made available for pre-order in its standard format on CD and vinyl, and in various special editions — with different covers and extras, like the aforementioned photo cards — in limited (now sold-out) quantities on Swift’s official webstore. Target also released an exclusive edition CD pre-order.
Swift adds of the album art, “We chose this really high-gloss finish which I’ve never done before, and I think it looks so cool. We wanted this album to feel really luxurious and kind of as a nod to the luxury that a showgirl puts on when she’s on stage. Meanwhile, in the quick-change room she’s like [out of breath, breathing heavily] … Maybe that’s just me, I don’t know.”
“It’s all just something I’m really proud of,” says Swift, who on Friday announced her new project is also headed to select movie theaters with The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, a premiere experience that will debut her music video for album opener “The Fate of Ophelia,” behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot, lyric videos and personal reflections on the collection’s 12 tracks. “It took a lot of time to put together, a lot of concentration, a lot of organization, but hopefully it pays off. I hope the fans are happy.”
Also on the Showgirl promotional calendar: an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, set for broadcast on the BBC on her 12th studio album’s release date, Oct. 3.
Watch the latest clip shared by Taylor Nation below.