“Brunette” and “ginger” were never in Taylor Swift‘s nomenclature — until now.
With the release of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video over the weekend, the 35-year-old Grammy winner unlocked not one, but two alter-egos, one with dark brown hair and the other with a curly bob à la Marilyn Monroe. The fresh styles — a far cry from her run-of-the-mill blond bangs and below-the-shoulders cut — chameleoned her under each character as she danced around in a range of outfits that looked like they were plucked straight from the costume closets of “Hamlet, “The Princess Bride” and “Burlesque.”
In the opening scene, Swift is seen laying inside a painting with long blond hair and side bangs. The camera subesquently follows her on stage through a dressing room where she becomes a Monroe lookalike; her long ends chopped short, curled under ears and parted on the left side of her head. The blond bob doesn’t last long before she’s swept on stage as her very own brown-haired doppelgänger. Here, Swift’s hair is pinned in a half up, half down style, with bangs combed every which way. The storm then turns to find Swift helming a ship with extra-long, copper-colored extensions. Think Chappell Roan in “The Subway” but a century earlier.
Taylor Swift wearing René Caovilla sandals for her album “The Life of a Showgirl.”
The kaleidoscope of colors and cuts is the work of hair expert Jemma Muradian, the same artist who styled Swift for her most recent album covers. Meanwhile, Swift’s makeup was courtesy of her longtime collaborator Lorrie Turk, who’s famously painted the faces of Reese Witherspoon and Sadie Sink. Both Muradian and Turk have teamed with Swift countless times over the last few years, tagging along to help build her on-stage aesthetic throughout her yearslong “Eras” tour concert series. WWD has reached out to Muradian and Turk for comments.
The “Love Story” singer dropped her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Friday, featuring 12 new tracks, including “The Fate of Ophelia.” Like her lyrics, the visuals of the album cover epitomized the role Swift held for the last year of her life: the “Eras” tour frontwoman. Fans got a first look at Swift’s new project back in August when she made her inaugural podcast appearance alongside her now-fiancé, Travis Kelce, on “New Heights” to break the news.