Yeseterday Taylor Swift made history as TIME's 2023 Person of the Year! It's not her first time being included; Taylor was also included in 2017 with the “Silence Breakers” who were described as “giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable.” She's the first figure from the arts to be named for this role because of her success as an entertainer. It's not often that Taylor Swift sits down to chat with a journalist, especially this in-depth. In this detailed cover story, Taylor chronicles her record breaking year and how she lives a public life on her own terms. The pop culture icon achieved tthis important accolade, beating the likes Barbie and King Charles III.
According to Time Magazine, Taylor Swift was chosen becuase of how she inspires hope. The magazine said, “While her popularity has grown across the decades, this is the year that Swift, 33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force.” Love her or not, Taylor Swift is certainly making waves and she's still skyrocketing in popularity despite being in the business for roughly 20 years. In fact, her Eras tour has been impossible to miss even if you live under a rock. From endless TikTok trends and fan cams to countless Tweets or Instagram posts, Taylor Swift's Eras tour has taken the world by storm (both online and off), creating what has become known as the “Taylor effect.”
You might be thinking this is just some Internet slang or meme, but the Taylor effect is indeed very real. Every time Taylor rolls into a new city for her tour the city and surrounding areas experience a mini economic boom as fans flood hotels, Airbnbs, and restaurants. Hell even craft stores saw a 500% increase in sales as fans made friendship bracelets to trade at each concert on the Eras tour. We witnessed yet another foreshock when she released her concert movie; ignoring the new normal of releasing the movie on a streaming service, Taylor partnered with AMC to release the movie, which lead to the theater chain's highest single-day ticket sales in history. From the stage to the screen, we're witnessing countless microquakes surrounding the popstar; for instance, many colleges around the United States, including ivy leagues like Harvard, are launching semester-long courses about Taylor Swift.
“I laid the groundwork, and then just like clockwork the dominoes cascaded in a line.”
Like she describes in her song Mastermind, Taylor it hasn't come easy. She's worked hard for decades to lay the ground work for the success she's experienced this year. In her interview with Time Magazine, Taylor Swift recounts how her journey to this point hasn't always been rainbows and butterflies. She recalls the heartbreaking moments at the very beginning of her career, such as missing her first ever tour as an opening act for Kenny Chesney becuase the tour was sponsored by a beer company and she wasn't old to join. She also discusses the trials and tribulations surrounding tabloids covering her personal life. Taylor has also recounts the infamous drama between her, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West.
Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift has made an incredible contribution to pop culture but also the US and global economies. Whether it's the stories in her songs or stories she recounts in interviews, Taylor is a storytelling mastermind. IIn her interview with TIME Magazine for the Person of the Year, the interviewer comments how in their conversation Taylor “perfectly crafted this story ... the one about redemption, how she lost it all and got it back. Storytelling is what [Taylor's] always done.” A good story is full of good, brilliant, heartbreaking, and shocking stories ... so perhaps that's what makes Taylor Swift perfect for TIME's 2023 Person of the Year.
Styled by: Heidi Bivens at Honey Artists; hair by Holli Smith; make-up by Diane Kendal; nails by Maki Sakamoto; production by VLM Productions
On the covers: Jacket, denim shirt and turtleneck by Polo Ralph Lauren; dress by Area; bodysuit by Bardot, tights by Wolford; earrings are artist’s own
On the inside: Jacket, denim shirt and turtleneck by Polo Ralph Lauren; tuxedo jacket, tuxedo shirt, vest and pocket square by Ralph Lauren Collection, jeans by Polo Ralph Lauren; dress by Alaia; rings by Anna Sheffield and Cartier; earrings are artist’s own
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