The Eras Tour | TTPD | v2
The Tortured Poets Department Section, Version 2
Worn On: 7/13/24 // Milan, Italy
the commentary
Taylor first debuted the Tortured Poets section when she kicked off the European leg of the Eras Tour in Paris. I had wondered aloud when/if we would see alternate versions of this dress with other TTPD lyrics scrawled across it. It was particularly top of mind for me given that, at the time, we had four versions of Tortured Poets (The Manuscript, The Bolter, The Albatross, and The Black Dog) and four nights in Paris.
Now we have an answer! A new version of Taylor’s corseted Vivienne Westwood dress debuted during Milan 1. This second version features lyrics from “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?”. I personally love the effect of the words strewn across this costume, akin to ripped out diary pages meant to be discarded but instead worn with a daring defiance for all to look at. In a way, that’s exactly how I feel about Tortured Poets as an album: A compilation of songs from a chapter in her life she could have buried but that she needed to exhume for everyone to see and know.
Looking closely, I couldn’t help but notice a difference between the application processes of the lyrics on Versions 1 and 2 to the recycled taffeta used as the base for the dress. On the original version, the lyrics are delicately transcribed in a thin, calligraphic hand and some neatly aligned sections. On Version 2, the lyrics are larger and cover more area of the dress as well as featuring an almost pointillism effect between strokes that sort of bears similarity to the beads on a friendship bracelet.
the clothes
* Not available for purchaseFeature Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/TAS24 via Getty Images