Today, Taylor Swift released 1989 Taylor's Version, exactly 9 years after the original album released, and my senior Swifties and I threw a party to celebrate!
I think it’s fair to say that Taylor Swift is the hottest pop star… like ever. Between her record-breaking tour this year and the recent release of the Eras Tour movie, Taylor’s fan base, affectionately known as “Swifties” is on the rise. However, there’s a specific subset of Swifties who have a significant emotional connection to Taylor – the Class of 2024.
I’m talking about the graduating class of 2024. Currently in their “Senior Era,” this group hasn’t known life without Taylor in it. Taylor Swift has quite literally provided the soundtrack for their entire life.
Why you ask? Well, the class of 2024 was born in 2006 – the year Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut album. They sang along in cars as toddlers, they dressed up as the pop star for Halloween, and for many of them Taylor Swift was the first artist they ever saw live in concert.
The release of the original 1989 album is likely the most memorable release for them. Not only was 1989 Taylor’s crossover into the pop genre, but for most of them, the 1989 tour was the first concert they ever attended. AND if you do some basic Swiftie math, they were 8, when the original 1989 album released 9 years ago.
So what better way to celebrate this epic album drop than with a par-TAY!
Nine of my DOP Senior Reps and I planned and photographed a little party to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the original 1989 album and the upcoming release of 1989 Taylor’s Version. Adorned with nods to stylistic cues from her 1989 era, this photoshoot is filled with easter eggs every true Swiftie is sure to catch. And in case you're not a die-hard Swiftie reading this, I'll give you some of the deets...
Keep scrolling for some additional fun facts behind each of the shots we did to honor this epic album.
If you're a super Swiftie, then you know that Taylor is infamous for leaving clues and hints in her outfits. Lately Taylor has been seen wearing lots of denim and blue, an indication that she's currently in her 1989 era (blue is the color associated with this era). We've been scouring her looks for the past few months and tried to include some similar styles.
All of the outfits worn in this shoot are from the cutest little boutique in Timonium, Maryland. Girlhero is located in Greenspring Station and is filled with some of the hottest brands and styles for girls of all ages.
We modeled a few shots to resemble some moments from her 1989 Music Videos, like this one from "Blank Space"
And we even gave a small nod to "Shake it Off."
One of the most popular tracks titled, "Style," is said to be written about pop star, Harry Styles. I know many Swifties were hoping for a collab with Harry himself on the re-record, but as of yet, there are no signs of this epic pairing, BUT we had to give a small nod to the king himself with a few shots that resemble his iconic Rolling Stones cover pic.
When 1989 launched in 2014, each CD copy of the album included a packet, one of five sets, of 13 random Polaroid Pictures, made up from 65 different pictures with track lyrics at the bottom. We decided to document our celebration with some Polaroid photos of our own, accompanies by some of our fav lyrics from 1989.
Did you know that after Taylor announced her fifth album1989 back in 2014, she played her brand new single "Shake It Off" and shared the music video with a few of her *biggest* fans, and then they all then headed back to Taylor's apartment for some pizza???? Well, we made sure our little beach party included pizza, too!
And of course we had to recreate the 1989 Taylor's Version album covers!
I want to give a huge shout out to The Mixing Spoon and Lu Rose Cookies for making these 1989-themed goodies for our shoot, too! If you're looking for Taylor-Swift themed sweets, be sure to hit up both of these local gals!
**fun fact -- Lu Rose Cookies is actually my daughter's BFF's biz**
I hope you all loved every detail that went into making this shoot one of my most favorites ever! And thank you to everyone who helped bring this shoot to life:
Photography // Desiree Ortman Photography
Hair + Makeup // Sarah Slater, Marley Jett + April Kenney
Wardrobe // Girlhero
Cake // The Mixing Spoon
Custom Cookies // Lu Rose Cookies
