On the 23rd day of fashion month, Vogue’s two resident Gen Z editors are hanging on by a thread. The only thing that can rouse us from our sleep-starved stupor? One Taylor Swift—our musical god—releasing her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
While we are still sleep-deprived, for the remaining four days of shows we might just make it through. Follow along as we react to the album’s 12 songs.
Irene Kim: It’s 5:30 a.m. right now and it feels illegal to be up this early, but sadly I am live-blogging the Loewe show. (Congratulations to Jack and Lazaro, though!) This is Florence and my second Taylor Swift reaction, and I have to say that while it is exciting, it does suck that we have to wait for each other to listen to her albums!!! I was on TikTok this morning whilst waiting for Loewe to start and heard a 30-second preview of one of her songs and immediately threw my phone across the room!
Florence O’Connor: I’m in London and let me just say that having to wait for Irene to wake up to listen to this album is one of the hardest things I have ever done. However, I do it for my bestie (Irene) and for our fans (you guys).
O’Connor: OMG, already loving the beat. What a bop! I’m googling the lyrics so I can read along while I listen. I don’t want to miss anything!
Kim: My brain is still waking up but I love it. I honestly cannot comprehend the lyrics right now— that will be a job for later today, when I am not working. But the chorus is really nice.
O’Connor: I feel like now is a good time to admit that Ophelia is high up on my baby-name list, but everyone tells me it’s too tragic of a story to associate with a kid! I’m not sure if this song helps or hurts my case?
Kim: Omg, lol. Ophelia is really pretty!!!!!
O’Connor: Okay, this album is clearly about Travis (not that there was ever really a question about that), but “pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes” is undeniable. Go Chiefs! Do football players have walk-out songs? Or is that just baseball? I think they should start just so Travis can walk out to a Taylor song.
Kim: That’s really cute, that last line: “You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.” Please insert 100 of those sobbing iPhone emojis here!!
O’Connor: Can’t wait to scream “Be my NY whеn Hollywood hates me” with you, Irene, while we are in LA for Vogue World: Hollywood later this month. (Everyone make sure to tune in on October 26!)
Kim: I am already screaming and crying over the line, “ooh, oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me/ All the right guys promised they’d stay under bright lights/ They withered away, but you bloom.” Because that is so Travis.
Kim: This song reminds me of an Emily Henry book I read this summer Great Big Beautiful Life! One of the characters of the story is reminiscent of a starlet like Elizabeth Taylor or Taylor Swift (really famous and has had many boyfriends come and go), so it really reminds me of that. But that book also had a happy-ish ending, so Taylor Swift, I only hope for the HAPPIEST ending for you!!!
O’Connor: If “You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby”... Taylor, you are on fire!
O’Connor: Okay, so the tea here is that people think this song is about Keleigh Teller, because she gave Taylor an opalite ring and then they went from being joined at the hip to never being seen together again. The lyrics, “And all of the foes, and all of the friends (Ha, ha)/ They’ve seen it before, they’ll see it again (Ha, ha)/ Life is a song, it ends when it ends” are definitely giving those TikTok theories some credibility.
Kim: Teaaaaaaaaa. The ring was pretty though.
O’Connor: “This is just a storm inside a teacup”… I am, in fact, drinking tea out of a teacup right now. I’ve never felt closer to Taylor.
O’Connor: This song is how the entire Vogue staff feels about Irene when it comes to fashion month. She “protects the family.” We can most definitely “leave it with” her. And let me tell you, fashion PRs “know [her] name in the streets.” I do feel for anyone who “mistake[s] [her] kindness” and finds their “card cancelled.” “This empire” belongs to Irene Kim.
Kim: That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said. I am in tears!!!!!!
O’Connor “You know, you remind me of a younger me. I saw potential.” Oooh, who do we think this is about? Sabrina Carpenter? Gracie Abrams? Dare I say Olivia Rodrigo?
Kim: It could be about all of them!!! She is the mother (complimentary) of all the pop girlies. And the line “I protect the family” is so mafia and New Jersey-coded!!
O’Connor: This may be a hot take, but this kind of sounds like it could be from a musical? I love it. Like, this could be in Dear Evan Hansen?
Kim: Omg. Taylor Swift on Broadway soon?!? Or doing a Vegas residency?!??!
O’Connor: I mean, we are for sure only a few years away from The Life of a Showgirl, the musical version! Sabrina Carpenter can play her!
Kim: Father figure behavior for sure!!
O’Connor: “But I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage” is to the same melody as “’Cause I’m not your princess, this ain’t a fairytale” from White Horse. Chills.
Kim: The line, “so many traitors, smooth operators” is something Donna Kelce should keep in mind when she goes on Traitors next season. Especially around the housewives and ex Survivor cast.
O’Connor: *Immediately googles where Gallatin Road is* It’s in Tennessee. Interesting.
Kim: The 50 Cent shoutout is KILLING ME!!!! Two icons honestly.
O’Connor: Oh, I guess this is about an old fling from high school? She mentions Abigail, second period, and a corsage.
Kim: Interesting, I was sure this would be about an alleged ex friend from the song title. But as ever, Taylor Swift supersedes our expectations.
O’Connor: This song just took a turn I was not prepared for: “Abigail called me with the bad news” and “But I whispered at the grave, ‘Should’ve kissed you anyway.’” Well, that’s sad!
Kim: As Florence knows, my childhood friend told me he liked me this summer, and now Taylor Swift is giving me advice to ruin the friendship rather than regret it for all time? (He doesn’t subscribe to Vogue so the chances of him reading this are slim!!!)
O’Connor: Wow, Irene is being real out here. (Maybe too real??) We really risk it all for a good story here. Thank God for the paywall, am I right?!
Kim: Yay, paywall!
O’Connor: At least Irene is in good company, because Taylor is being REAL in this song. Sorry, Charli XCX, team Taylor always.
Kim: Omg, this song. The lyrics. I am SCREAMING at how savage Taylor is being. “Boring Barbie” is really funny. I can’t lie.
O’Connor: Truly, step aside, Kim K, Taylor has a new villain. Irene, should we write a diss track? Wouldn’t you all love to know who the subject would be!
Kim: Florence and I could easily bang out a diss track if Vogue locked us in a conference room for an hour. We might need to borrow Taylor’s band, though.
Kim: How does Taylor Swift make her diss tracks sound sweet? If you weren’t paying attention to the lyrics you would mistake it for a non-diss track.
O’Connor: I fear ours would not be nearly as subtle.
Kim: Yeah. But good for you, Taylor! Clapping back through her album!
O’Connor: Irene and my birthday is coming up (they’re four days apart…we are truly twin flames), so I asked Irene what she wanted and she said nothing. So Irene cannot relate to this song.
Kim: I love us!! To be fair, when I asked Florence the same thing she also said nothing. But then she said she wanted a sweatshirt!!!!! (It sounds like it’s a cute sweatshirt, though, from Cherry LA!) We both need to dream bigger, like for a house on the water or something like that, because a house with a basketball hoop in the driveway is not my dream. (It was my reality growing up, so I cannot relate to Taylor Swift in this instance!)
O’Connor: I guess I also want to “have a couple kids,” but mine will all be named Ophelia!
Kim: And if your kids keep your last name they could be Ophelia O’Connor, and if you make their middle name something that also begins with an O, they could have the amazing initials of “OOO,” which is my favorite email subject line to receive!
O’Connor: See, this is why we all need an Irene in our lives. Genius.
O’Connor: This song is saucy! At this moment, I am very relieved we are not listening to this song in a conference room at work.
Kim: Thank God!! It Seems NSFW. But being friends with Sabrina Carpenter has really opened Taylor Swift up to being a bit more cheeky. I love it.
O’Connor: Omg, is this about Blake Lively? “Good thing I like my friends cancelled/ I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.”
Kim: Omg. So are they still friends or not? I need answers now!!!!!! But back to the song, this is extremely Reputation-coded. I love how vulnerable and vengeful Taylor is getting.
O’Connor: Now that is TEA! Also, am I being crazy, or could “something wicked this way comes” be an easter egg for the second Wicked movie coming out later this year? I would die to see a Taylor Swift cameo in Oz!
Kim: That would be amazing if Taylor made a cameo in Wicked.
O’Connor: I need to hear her sing “Defying Gravity” ASAP.
O’Connor: Ugh, so happy to hear another cute Travis-coded song. I love their love. Irene, you can call me honey!
Kim: Yes, me and Luke!!! (That’s Florence’s boyfriend, who gets a shoutout in almost every Florene article! Because we love Luke!)
O’Connor: Throuple alert!
Kim: LOL! We can share our house with the driveway and basketball hoop! More financially smart if we split the home three ways, in this economy!
Kim: Who would ever tell Taylor Swift to back off? I would let her take my man any time!
O’Connor: She can join our relationship. Quadruple alert!
O’Connor: OMG. My sister’s name is Kitty… I’m so jealous. She is, in fact, being a showgirl in a play on the West End right now!!
Kim: Between the tea and the Kitty mention, it’s like this album was written for you, Florence.
O’Connor: I’m so mad. I’m so jealous that my parents named her Kitty and not me. This is so unfair. And she’s the oldest daughter.
O’Connor: I only just realized Sabrina Carpenter is also on this song. Iconic.
Kim: Me too—I honestly forgot about the Sabrina feature! Their voices are a match made in heaven, though. Our favorite two showgirls!
O’Connor: We too are “married to the hustle” and recently received lots of “lovely bouquets” (courtesy of our boss, Chloe Malle, whose office turned into a florist for two weeks).
Kim: Best week of my life! We were going home with flowers every other day!
Kim: The outro is really giving Taylor’s about to go do a Vegas residency. I will spend all of my paycheck to go watch this live.
O’Connor: No notes. Can’t wait for the show! (This is also our formal plea to any brands who would like to send us! We will love you forever!)
