As we all know by now, Taylor Swift is a bona fide Easter egg aficionado. The singer-songwriter has made a habit of dropping clues ahead of new albums. The new track “Vigilante S**t” on her instant hit record Midnights has Swifties wondering just how far back she began hinting at the recent release.
On track eight, Swift sings, “I don’t dress for women; I don’t dress for men. Lately, I’ve been dressing for revenge.” Arguably, the ultimate example for “dressing for revenge,” is Princess Diana’s memorable off-the-shoulder LBD from Greek designer Christina Stambolian. She wore the iconic dress to attend a fundraiser for the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens in 1994 the very same evening her estranged husband Prince Charles publicly admitted to having an affair with current Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The look has since been recreated, and actress Elizabeth Debicki will wear a replica in the highly anticipated fifth season of Netflix’s The Crown.
Debicki, however, is not the only one to reimagine the famous ensemble. Last November, Swift made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote her re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s Version) in a very similar black off-the-shoulder minidress from London-based designer David Koma.
Many speculated the reference to be a subversive nod to her track All Too Well, re-released as a 10-minute version with a short film, recalling her past relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Now, it seems as though the similar dress could have been a proactive wink at “Vigilante S**t.”
At the time, Swift denied the comparison, telling Access Hollywood, “I just liked the dress. It was a black dress I liked.”
However, Swift told Entertainment Weekly in 2019 that her favorite kind of Easter egg to hide is through clothing or jewelry. “This is one of my favorite ways to do this, because you wear something that foreshadows something else,” she said. “People don’t really usually find out this one immediately, but they know you’re probably sending a message. They’ll figure it out in time.”
It seems revenge is a dish best served in a really great little black dress.
