Taylor’s Girl Squad rallies round her
LET US JOIN hands and cast our minds back to the sunlit idyll of 2014; a time before Brexit, Covid, or Liam Payne’s baffling transatlantic accent. It was a simpler time, arguably a preferable one. At least Taylor Swift seems to think so – as word reaches us that she has reassembled her girl squad from that era.
Just days after her split from actor Joe Alwyn, her partner of six years, went public, Swift was spotted arriving at members-only club Zero Bond in New York with Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and the Haim sisters.
Pictures of the group were reminiscent of the period between 2014 and 2016 when Swift and her A-list besties appeared inseparable, whether covering Vogue
magazine, collecting VMA awards or derailing Tom Hiddleston’s hopes of playing Bond with a single I ❤ TS vest. The era culminated in Swift’s Bad Blood
video, an understated affair starring – wait for it – Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Serayah, Jessica Alba, Gigi Hadid, Zendaya, Ellie Goulding, Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, Cindy Crawford, Ellen Pompeo, Lily Aldridge, Mariska Hargitay, Hayley Williams, Hailee Steinfeld and Martha Hunt as futuristic warriors. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video – but a backlash was brewing.
By September 2015, the New York Post
was referring to the squad as a ‘Stepford Wives-style cult’, amid accusations that the uniformly white and skinny group (many of whom were literal supermodels) felt elitist and exclusionary. After a period out of the public eye, in June 2019 Swift hinted that the squad had disbanded, writing, ‘Something about, “We’re in our young twenties!” hurls people together into groups that can feel like your chosen family. And maybe they will be for the rest of your life. Or maybe they’ll just be your comrades for an important phase, but not forever. It’s sad but sometimes when you grow, you outgrow relationships.’ That September, she told Rolling Stone magazine that criticism of the gang had hit her ‘like a ton of bricks’, explaining, ‘I never would have imagined that people would have thought, “This is a clique that wouldn’t have accepted me if I wanted to be in it.”’
And yet, Swift has clearly decided that in the wake of her shock split from Alwyn she’ll risk the wrath again and take solace from her friends, who are rallying around. Although sources say the split was amicable, three days before Swift’s girls’ night out, Alwyn’s co-star Emma Laird shared a picture of him on a moped in Hungary, where they are currently filming. Laird was forced to disable comments on the post after Swift fans caught wind. Swifties were, for example, quick to note that Swift’s brother Austin, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, Martha Hunt and the Haim sisters have all unfollowed Alwyn on Instagram.
What does it all mean? Are we about to witness the advent of Bad Blood II (Taylor’s version)? And if her three-month dalliance with Jake Gyllenhaal inspired her 10-minute opus All Too Well, will her six-year relationship with Alwyn bequeath us a break-up anthem lasting four full hours? We live in hope.
IT’S THE BRAND celebrities have on speed dial for when they want to look sexy yet directional. Fans include Dua Lipa, Kylie Jenner and Rihanna. And now you too can get a piece of the magic of Thierry Mugler for a fraction of the price, thanks to the latest H&M designer collaboration – in-stores and online from 11 May.
Mugler – founded by Thierry Manfred Mugler; now helmed by creative director Casey Cadwallader – is the latest in a long line of designer brands to collaborate with the high street giant, and set on bringing you almost exact replicas of the corset top you’ve seen on Dua or the sculpted dress you’ve seen on Sydney Sweeney. It was a no-brainer for Cadwallader, who believes the brands have shared values. ‘Both care a lot about challenging the idea of who high fashion should be for,’ he told Grazia. ‘I was adamant this had to be true of Mugler – nothing compromised or watered down.’
Anyone who saw the collaboration’s show last month – a catwalk-slash-concert staged in New York, which featured performances from Shygirl, Amaarae and Eartheater – will know that it definitely isn’t watered down, combining hits from modern-day Mugler (like the spiral jeans that look like the fabric is snaking around its wearer’s legs) with remakes of archive pieces from the ’80s and ’90s (think: the black velvet minidress worn by a troupe of models led by Eva Herzigova). ‘I wanted
to include as many of our iconic designs as possible. That meant we had to have the catsuits, the jeans, the great tailoring, the sculptural accessories,’ says Cadwallader.
Pamela Anderson watched from the front row wearing the collection’s bedazzled top (£79.99) and tights with black tailoring (£149.99); Chloë Sevigny chose the ladylike skirt suit threaded with punky pins (£229.99 for the blazer; £79.99 for the skirt). Precious Lee modelled its take on a classic red carpet gown (a strapless number with sheer corsetry for £229.99). Irina Shayk, meanwhile, wore the jeans (£119.99), one of the key pieces.
‘I know my sales figures. I know what everyone wants,’ said Cadwallader, speaking before the show at a press conference. ‘They are so beautifully made and meticulous when it comes to shape,’ says Ann-sofie Johansson, H&M’S creative advisor, of the jeans. ‘You can tell he studied architecture,’ she says of Cadwallader’s clothes. ‘They totally enhance and empower the body.’
This is the essence of Mugler, with an emphasis on how fashion shouldn’t exclude, a legacy that can be traced back to Thierry. ‘He was embracing diversity on his runway long before it was fashionable,’ says Cadwallader, who says the house’s mantra is very much about celebrating yourself. ‘It’s about openness, freedom, imagination and inclusivity when it comes to beauty and body types. That spirit runs through the collection,’ he says, describing how designing clothes for as broad a custom base as possible has become part and parcel of how he and his team work. The question he asks is, ‘How can the body be respected?’
As with other designer collaborations at H&M, the high street price point means that, for the first time, every Mugler fan will be able to buy into the brand whatever their budget, something that thrills Cadwallader. ‘The velvet dress is $20,000 on [resale platform] 1st Dibs. To take something that’s so exclusive and bring it to everyone? I was like, ‘‘Yes!”,’ he said at the press conference. The petrol green leather trench coat, the collection’s most costly item at £499, was modelled on a similar piece that had to be discontinued after only selling 10 units. ‘We used a lot of the same materials and made them just as well. It looks exactly like what we do,’ says Cadwallader.
So the next time you need to dress up-up? This collection has got you covered. But be quick: once it’s gone, it’s gone. ‘I’ve never believed in fashion for the exclusive few.’ Mugler H&M is available at selected stores and online from 11 May