Why fans dress up for Taylor Swift, Beyonc and Harry Styles

Special events have always been worth dressing up for.

But from Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour to Harry Styles’s Love on Tour, this year’s trend in concert dressing has felt somewhat… extra.

Although Taylor Swift is set to grace the UK next summer, her presence has been well and truly felt by British fans on TikTok.

As the last lucky Swifties grab the final tickets for the UK Eras tour, fans’ thoughts are already turning to what they will wear when the much-anticipated event finally arrives.

#ErasTourOutfits already has about a billion views on TikTok, filled with videos of Swifties lip-syncing, wearing outfits that capture Taylor’s famous eras, or dressing up themselves, friends and their willing boyfriends as her actual lyrics for a quick viral video moment.

If you’re a fan of Taylor Swift on TikTok, it’s been inescapable on your “For You page”.

If not, it’s more than likely you’ve been exposed to a similar style of video or someone in your life dressing with the intention of seeing another very popular artist.

But where has this trend come from?

Sophie Hill, 23, from Manchester, sourced every part of her outfit second-hand to see Harry Styles during the UK leg of Love on Tour, inspired by Harry himself.

“I wore some Adidas campers that I got off Vinted, because they are ‘Harry’s trainer’ and they are pink, which was the colour of the concert,” she said. “I paired that with my feather boa from his last tour.”

Sophie found a following on TikTok, visiting various charity shops as she looked for the perfect outfit, and gave fans suggestions from what she bought.

The videos have clocked up more than 1.5 million views.

“There’s a colour aspect to it, the red the pink. Then there are patterns, anything heart-printed, all the fruits. The strawberries, the cherries, the watermelons, the kiwis – because he names a lot of fruits in his songs.”

Sophie says Harry Styles started the trend of hardcore concert dressing, with a little help from TikTok.

“Harry wore a feather boa to the Grammies, a fan copied, the world of TikTok took it and it became a thing.”

Sophie can’t see a time when she won’t be dressing up for concerts.

Sophie isn’t alone in thinking this way. It is a trend that popular fashion companies have also taken note of.

Fast fashion brand NastyGal has had sections for ‘The Eras Tour’, ‘The Reniassance Tour’, ‘Love on Tour’ and Elton John’s ‘Yellow Brick Road Tour’.

Second-hand shopping apps are also jumping on the bandwagon – Depop created a Beyoncé-inspired metallic edit when she was in the UK on their homepage, as well as feather boas, cowboy boots and heart-eye shaped sunglasses heavily featuring in their “Festival Edit.”

Stylist and photographer, Rosanna Elettra, has styled bands on tour such as The Gorillaz, and worked with other with other popular music stars like Kesha and Aitch.

She says this summer’s wave of concert dressing dates back to the 60s.

“Fans of bands like The Beatles or The Rolling stones would often mimic their looks,” she said. “While in the 70s and 80s, fans reflected punk artists through ripped jeans and custom leather jackets.”

Rosanna says a lot goes into styling a band and that artists like Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and SZA are just the latest to do it and do it well.

“You need to look at the artist’s music, lyrics, personal style, their evolving image and the essence of the tour.

“Fans are noticing this, Swifties are taking inspiration from the glimmering haze of her newest album Midnights, to the vintage dresses and cowboy boots evoking nostalgia of Swift’s early country roots.”

Rosanna believes that as well as social media, factors like the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have played their part in the influx of feather boas and cowboy hats.

“After extended periods of social isolation and the rising cost of living, fans are looking to maximise their experience, and dressing up in homage to their favourite artists is part of this experience. They want to feel part of the tour and then share it online with other fans.”

Marion Moumpala, 27, from Manchester, did exactly this when dressing for Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, sharing her experience on TikTok, and documenting fans’ outfits in Sunderland.

“With the cost of living these days, any experience that we invest in we want to enjoy to the fullest, and I feel like dressing up is definitely part of it,” she said.

“I was really inspired by Beyoncé’s Renaissance album outfits, lots of silver, rhinestones and cowboy vibes.

“My advice for anyone who wants to look extra-cool at a concert, is create a mood-board based on the visuals for the concert.”

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