The Eras Tour | Acoustic Section | v8
Acoustic Section, version 8
Worn On: 10/18/24 // Miami, Florida
the commentary
The acoustic set dress has now had three design iterations, but eight total variants (accounting for different coloured versions for each design). The first was a ruffly, high/low, cold-shoulder number by Jessica Jones - a longtime costume designer for Taylor who did many of the costumes on the 1989 Tour and all of them for the reputation Tour. To have brought her back into the fold for the Eras Tour felt like such a warm and lovely nod, indeed, to eras past.
When the tour kicked back in for its revamped set during its European stint, Taylor swapped her acoustic dress design out for one by Roberto Cavalli. This second design did away with the sleeve detail (too many Errors Tour moments during an on-stage quick change) but kept the high/low silhouette. It also reworked the ruffle design into something lighter and breezier - a chiffon that I guessed might work better for humid summer nights in Europe.
Which brings us to this third version. This iteration takes the second design by Roberto Cavalli, slightly shortens the front of the high/low for an even more dramatic effect, adds a ton of glittery crystals, and dip dyes it into an ombre of “magenta, purple, petroleum, and midnight blue” according to the designer. The ombre effect very much reminds me of some of the fringed dresses Taylor would wear on the reputation Tour which had many iterations and colours. At first, a part of me wondered if the ombre element was a way of nodding to how the acoustic section provides the opportunity for a song from just about any album to be played. But if so, I think there was a more elegant and all-encompassing way to nod to all the colours associated with the eras. I think the crystals were a great addition (they sparkled beautifully as she made her swan dive exit) but I think this is giving more betta fish than anything else.
the clothes
* Not available for purchaseFeature Photo by John Shearer/TAS24 via Getty Images