Taylor Swift Fans Are Blaming Travis Kelce For Her âDivisiveâ New Style Era
As the pop star's signature accessible style gives way to logo-mania, Swifties are debating the cause of her recent fashion pivot.
We can all agree Taylor Swift's style has shifted significantly between football seasons. Gone are the days of vintage Chiefs merch sourced from local Kansas City boutiques and hand-knit â87 beanies gifted from fans. This yearâs Stadium Strutsâas I'm coining her Arrowhead pap walksâhave been all about repping luxury fashion labels.
Though fans once said Swift kicked off football season in her âbaddie era,â with high-low moments favoring corsets, thigh-high boots, and a refreshing mix of designer pieces, the discourse has taken a bit of a turn as the season progressed. Now, some fans say she's ditched her signature accessibility factor all together.
Some of Swift's looks from the 2023â2024 football season.
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Swift's game day looks between September and November 2024.
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For the past two playoff games, Swift has entered Arrowhead in head-to-toe Chanel and Louis Vuitton looks, with her latest game day 'fit featuring a logo-heavy Louis Vuitton zip-up, branded gloves, and a beanie featuring one final gold LV. Even outside the stadium, we've seen Swift dripping in Gucci logos on multiple nights out, a move some of her fans say is a âjarringâ change for a pop star who's always made relatability a tentpole of her street style choices.
Taylor Swift's most recent looks from the 2024â2025 season.
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The culprit, many fans proclaim, is her bold-dressing boyfriend Travis Kelce. âThis is Travis' fault, I'm sorry,â SwiftTok analyst @theswiftologist (aka Zachary) said of a head-to-toe Gucci look she wore on a December date night, describing the NFL player as a âhype beast.â
âI feel like it's a very 'bro culture' thing to be super into labels specifically, and Taylor decided, âlet me have a go at that,'â the pop culture TikToker said in the video, which has over 12,800 likes.
A few weeks after that, Zachary spoke highly of the red faux fur coat Swift wore to the Chiefs-Texans game in late December, though they suggested her Chanel bucket hat was âin line with her recent obsession with being a hype beast.â One commenter replied to that video, âThe hat has to be a gift from Travis.â
Zachary and their followers are far from the only Swifties crediting Kelce for her recent sartorial choices. After Swift arrived to the ChiefsâBills game in that controversial head-to-toe LV look, TikTok user Lydia Hawken received over 20,700 likes on a video titled, âHas Travis Kelce ruined Taylor Swift's personal style?â
âWhen it comes to her game day wardrobe, I've never seen her quite so preoccupied with labels,â Hawken said in the video, displaying multiple looks before honing in on the âdivisiveâ Louis Vuitton ensemble. âShe was essentially a walking billboard for Louis Vuitton, and you know who loves Louis Vuitton?â The answer, it seems, is the NFL player who has repped the famous logo on numerous occasions over the years.
Of course, not everyone is bothered by Kelce's alleged influence. âI feel like Travis picked this outfit and I love it,â one Instagram user responded to an insightful breakdown of the look by Taylor Swift style expert Sarah Chappell, who had not even mentioned Kelce in her post. Another commenter called it a âTravis-coded outfit,â adding, "Iâm not mad about it.â
The man does love a designer bucket hat!
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Still, others think this characterization strips Swift of her autonomy. âMaybe let's stop categorizing her style based on her dating status," wrote X.com user @repiscrumbling wrote in response to a user who claimed Swift's style was "at its peak" between her reported fling with Matty Healy and the NFL player. Thousands of Swifties agreed, with one user replying, âTaylor always goes through phases/eras with style, as well as changing style in different seasons like everyone else, it has nothing to do with her boyfriend sheâs just having fun with clothes.â
I'm personally inclined to agree with @repiscrumbling, though I do think Swift's latest style era is worth unpackingâand I can't wait to see what she wears to the Super Bowl.