Leave it to the Swifties to quickly figure out all the Easter eggs hidden in Taylor Swift‘s 2022 MTV Video Music Awards look.
On Sunday, the singer took home three awards for her video, “All Too Well: The Short Film,” at the VMAs—but that was hardly the only news we got from her that night. Swift first turned heads when she showed up to the awards show in a dazzling silver minidress crafted from bejeweled chains and matching chandelier crystal Christian Louboutin strappy heels. And later, while onstage in the shimmering piece, she announced she is releasing a whole new album, Midnights, dropping October 21.
All of it caused quite a stir on social media, as fans worked to process and decipher every detail of her appearance. Here, we break down the theories.
The dress
Swift’s shimmering Oscar de la Renta chandelier minidress was more than just glitz and glamour, according to Swifties. The piece was actually a reference to the metallic silver dress she wore to the 2009 VMAs, when Kanye West famously interrupted her speech—that was exactly 13 years ago, and 13, as fans know, is Swift’s favorite number.
She also wore a silver jewel-encrusted dress while lying in a bathtub filled with diamonds in the video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” which she wrote about West and then wife Kim Kardashian, after the rapper made a rude remark about Swift in his song “Famous” and Kardashian threatened to release a voice recording they took of a phone call between Swift and West (during which Swift allegedly approved the lyrics that she later complained about).
The album release date
In “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift clearly warned us that all she thinks about is karma, and sure enough, her 10th album drops on October 21, the same day as Kardashian’s birthday.
(“The world moves on, another day another drama, drama / But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma / And then the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure / Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours.”)
The Reputation hint
It has been five years since Swift released Reputation—the album considered a response to the Kardashian–West drama—which means she is legally able to rerecord it as she has done with some of her other albums. So fans are now wondering, is a “Taylor’s Version” of Reputation and “Look What You Made Me Do” coming soon?
