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The realms of celebrity culture and must-read literature intersect more often and not lately thanks to best-selling books becoming the accessory du jour for sartorial savants. (No really, members of the celebrity style set have reportedly employed book stylists to help brand their personal image by toting zeitgeist-savvy reads).
But what happens when you combine an enigmatic debut novelist–who landed a $200 million film deal before her book hit shelves—a spy-comedy and a movie adaption starring Dua Lipa? A conspiracy theory involving Taylor Swift, of course.
For the uninitiated, the upcoming Matthew Vaughn espionage action film Argylle has taken on a mystery of its own: who is the ambiguous author, Elly Conway, who penned the source material? Argylle—specifically the upcoming film starring Dua Lipa, Henry Caville, Sam Rockwell and Claudia Schiffer’s cat (but more on that later)—has found itself in the centre of a perplexing turn of events.
The film’s trailer revealed that Conway was not just the author, but the main character of her meta-story as the movie follows the tribulations of the in-universe writer as she gets roped into an espionage plot of her own. Making matters more confusing is the fact that the real-life Elly Conway penned the story-within-a-story under a pseudonym.
So how did netizens land on Taylor Swift as the cryptic wordsmith, and why is she involuntarily included in this narrative?
Is Taylor Swift Elly Conway? All The Fan Theories
A Red Hair Author Is The Protagonist
The film adaptation sees Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic Park, Black Mirror) lead the production as Elly Conway. As we know, Conway’s real identity is concealed, but perhaps her on-screen appearance hints at their persona. For starters, Conway appears on-screen as a “dorky” writer sporting red hair. (Howard told Graham Norton that Swift’s “sort of unapologetic dorkiness” was a “great inspiration” for her character).
Swift portrayed a red-headed writer in the final act of the self-directed All Too Well: The Short Film. In Variety’s directors-on-directors interview with Martin McDonaugh, Swift revealed that she has intentions to work on a feature film in the future. Was Argylle this project?
Taylor Swift Owns And Wears Conway Studios Merchandise
Another hint comes in the form of clothing from Swift’s wardrobe—specifically, a ‘Conway Studios’ shirt worn during a final rehearsal of the Eras Tour. Swift posted the image of herself in the garment to social media, further sparking intrigue given her prowess for planting hidden Easter eggs. While many fans interpreted this as an admission of her being Conway, we took this at literal value: Swift wearing a t-shirt from the music studio she records in.
Taylor Swift & Elly Conway Both Own Scottish Folds
A critical clue comes in the form of Chip—Claudia Schiffer and Matthew Vaughn’s Scottish Fold cat that appears as Conway’s kitten in the film. Swift’s 2020 documentary Miss Americana showed her carrying her Scottish Fold in a backpack as Conway does in the film, further teasing the parallels between Swift and the seemingly fictitious author.
Addressing this, Vaughn did hold Swift responsible for the reason the Scottish Fold is in the film. “Ironically, what she is responsible for is the Scottish Fold,” Vaughn explained. “I got home one day, it was Christmas, and I was like, ‘What the f*** is that noise?’ And I’m running around the house and I hear a noise, and the kids had seen a Taylor Swift documentary [Miss Americana] and there was a Scottish Fold in that, and they’d persuaded my wife, Claudia [Schiffer], to get them the kitten for Christmas. It was bought without my permission and hidden from me.”
Taylor Swift Has Previously Used Pseudonyms
In another interview, Vaughn confirmed that Elly Conway was an alias for the real author. Swift has a registered talent for using nom de plumes. As it was uncovered in 2016, Swift used the false moniker of “Nils Sjöberg” to write “This Is What You Came From”. Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Calvin Harris, released the single, featuring vocals from Rihanna, after they collaborated on the project together, even going so far as to record demos.
Swift also featured the pseudonym “William Bowery” on her eighth studio album, folklore. In Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, Swift revealed this was the pen name for her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Alwyn’s work as Bowery earned him a retrospective credit and a Grammy Award. Speaking on the power of pseudonyms, Swift told music legend Paul McCartney: “I think when a pseudonym comes in is when you still have a love for making the work, and you don’t want the work to become overshadowed by this thing that’s been built around you, based on what people know about you.” “That’s when it’s really fun to create fake names and write under them,” she added.
Taylor Swift Has A Well-Documented Penchant For Argyle Print
Argylle pulls its name from its lead character–a dashing fictional spy played by Henry Cavil. The inspiration for the title is the Scottish-originated diamond pattern, a print Swift has a particular penchant for. The singer’s wardrobe is rife with accessible, prep-inspired staples, leading to her wearing the pattern on multiple occasions. (Including in the album cover photo shoot for Lover) Swift’s inclination for the pattern even resulted in her selling an argyle sweater as official merchandise following the release of her re-recorded Red album.
So, Did Taylor Swift Write Argyle?
Compounding evidence certainly argues Swift’s writing of Argylle as a strong possibility, but sadly she did not write the book or have any involvement in the film. The movie’s director shut down this theory, revealing: “There is a real book… and it’s a really good book. And there is an Elly Conway who wrote the book, but it’s not Taylor Swift.”
“And I say that because I imagine Taylor Swift has a load of people trying to jump on her bandwagon left, right, and centre, and I don’t want to be a part of that club,” he added. “I did read the conspiracies and I was like, wow, they don’t leave a stone unturned! But it’s not Taylor Swift. She definitely didn’t write the book.”
Speaking to Variety, Vaughn maintained that Elly Conway is in fact a real person. “There is a Elly Conway. I am begging Elly Conway to come out of the shadows because this Taylor Swift thing freaked me out. And it’s going to happen.”
Bryce Dallas Howard also touted about Taylor Swift’s involvement. “We can’t pretend she was involved,” Howard said on The Graham Norton Show. “The reality is she was in many ways a great inspiration. She is a cat lady. She’s got this awesome backpack with a cat in [it] that she walks around with. She loves a good argyle sweater, and there is a sort of unapologetic dorkiness about her.”
The level of self-references in the body of work, however, does lend itself to a potential Argylle universe where Swift could get involved in future. Imagine this story-in-a-story turned into a musical based on the film adapted from a book. Who better to write the original score than Taylor?
Argylle launches in Australian cinemas on February 2nd. Watch the trailer for the film below:
