Family days out: Taylor Swift Songbird Trail at the V&A

Whether you are a Swiftie or not, there is no denying the popularity and impact of the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. Her record-breaking Eras tour seems to be filling my Facebook feed (I’m not jealous…?!) and even though I haven’t deliberately sought out news stories or social media posts about Tay-Tay or her tour, I’ve definitely seen countless clips and viewed some of the amazing costumes she has been wearing on stage.

So when I visited the Victoria & Albert museum in London recently I couldn’t resist having a look at the Songbird Trail – a selection of Taylor’s outfits spread out around the museum.

It’s unusual in that it isn’t in a dedicated area (like the current Naomi Campbell exhibition within the fashion section for example) but instead across the whole museum, and it’s free to view. You do need to be prepared for some queues though if you want to see the costumes up close.

There are 13 stops on the trail each showcasing a different part of Taylor’s career; the museum is so big that to follow the entire trail means you will walk around a mile!

You can see where each stop is on the museum website but it’s also really well signposted from the start onto the next costume and then the next. It takes you all around the museum which is a great idea as it encourages visitors to take in other exhibits and rooms that they may not otherwise have done.

This also comes in handy if you don’t want to view the costumes close up, though admittedly I expect most people do.

The first two stops had the longest queues by far and we were advised by someone I spoke to on the customer services desk to start at point three if we wanted to avoid the queue.

Queuing lets you view the costumes up close, read the information in each case and take a selfie in front of them – but as the costumes are in a freestanding glass case in the middle of a gallery you can walk right past the queue if you just wanted to access that gallery to look at other things. And then you can still get a glimpse of the Taylor Swift costume as you go past – I did this for the first two as I wasn’t interested in a close look or a selfie and was actually in a bit of a hurry. Then for the later stops on the trail I was able to join a much shorter queue – or found there was even no queue at all.

I’m not especially familiar with Taylor’s music (though I like what I’ve heard) so the description on the V&A website was quite helpful. My favourite costumes included stop 6, two dresses from the 1989 album (which had no queues at all when I got there) and stop 5, a dress Taylor wore when performing Love Story live, which is based on Romeo and Juliet – so it’s fitting that the dress is on a mannequin standing on a balcony. You have a great view if you look up as you enter the room.

I didn’t make it as far as the last few stops due to lack of time, but was impressed with what I saw – and judging by the queues this is a popular exhibit with Swifties! It’s on until 8 September 2024 so you still have time to visit.