Sporting what some are calling a sophisticated new look, pop star Taylor Swift graces the cover of the May issue of Vogue magazine with a shorter hairstyle than usual and a lacy, black-and-gold Yves Saint Laurent minidress paired with Vetements platform boots — a far cry from the flouncy skirts and slinky bodysuits she’s often worn in concert settings.
“We very much wanted to give Taylor a new look, make her into a sort of a rock ’n’ roll chick,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour said on NBC’s “Today” Thursday, adding, “We love the way she looks — we think she looks young and modern and different.”
In the accompanying article, Swift, 26, who will co-host next month’s Met Gala with Wintour, says she finds herself at a crossroads. “This is the first time in 10 years that I haven’t known what direction to take in music, fashion or other fields,” she said. “I just decided that after the past year . . . I was going to live my life a little bit without the pressure on myself to create something.”
The Grammy winner will continue to write songs, she assured. “The thing is, with me, I could very well come up with three things in the next two weeks and then jump back into the studio, and all of a sudden the next record is started,” Swift said. “That’s an option, too.”
One thing of which she was certain, she added, is her romance with Calvin Harris, 32, perennially ranked by Forbes as the world’s highest paid DJ/electronic dance-music performer. “I’m just taking things as they come,” Swift said. “I’m in a magical relationship right now. And of course I want it to be ours, and low-key. . . . This is the one thing that’s been mine about my personal life.”
The singer also said she has learned how to deal with hateful comments and tabloid gossip. “I’ve had people say really hurtful things about me, and so I’ve kind of learned how to gauge it: ‘This is, like, low-to-medium-level hurtful,’” she told Vogue. “There are a lot of really easy ways to dispel rumors. If they say you are pregnant, all you have to do is continue to not be pregnant and not have a baby. If the rumor is that you have fake friendships, all you have to do is continue to be there for each other. And when we’re all friends in 15 years and raising our kids together, maybe somebody will look back and go, ‘That was kind of ridiculous what we said about Taylor and her friends.’ ”
