How Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Are Revolutionizing Concert Wear

Whether or not you’re a fan of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, it was hard to miss the impact they were having on pop culture and social media this past summer. I was there when Taylor Swift fans waited in hours-long virtual queues on Ticketmaster to snag tickets, with some accidentally being booted to the back of the line or out of the system altogether. I was there when Beyoncé announced she’d be going on tour, overtaking my Twitter feed for hours. As their respective tours began, the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé mania continued in other ways too, with numerous articles covering topics like “what book to read based on your favorite Taylor Swift song” or “best books to read based on your favorite Beyoncé era.” In different ways, two powerhouse women were already changing the conversation and anticipation surrounding concerts before their tours had even started. Little did I know that this would also affect what fans were wearing to their concerts, too.

For years, I’ve been used to seeing the numerous concert videos on people’s feeds and stories on Instagram, documenting one-in-a-lifetime experiences that make the music we love that much more special. I was used to the blurry selfies, the live reactions, the excitement, the showing off of new merch. What I wasn’t used to seeing was people dressing to the nines in very specific wear, way more than just the expected casual wear of t-shirts, jeans, and comfy shoes. For Taylor Swift, it was all about friendship bracelets (in reference to her Midnights song “You’re On Your Own, Kid”) and cowgirl attire. For Queen B, it was sacrilegious to wear anything but silver, black, glitter, shimmer, sequins and bedazzled anything in celebration of Virgo season. Each artist had their own specific dress code and it was dazzling, spectacular, and inspiring to witness. 

But when they are both huge artists in their own way and right, I couldn’t help but wonder: why was this just happening now? Why had I never seen other artists influencing their fans’ concert fashion to this degree?

Admittedly, dressing up for concerts isn’t anything new. When concerts became popular in 17th-century Europe, nobility dressed in their finery to attend venues where classical music was being performed. In the 1960s, concertgoers sported long hair, as well as the trademark sandals and casual clothing of the era. In the late 90s, Destiny’s Child and Christina Aguilera fans like concertgoer Ellie Lopez wore “denim and bejeweled stick-ons and lots of moussed hair.” But, as she points out, these choices weren’t specific to the artist they were seeing, only to the era and time frame in which the concerts were taking place. Or, especially in the 70s rock scene, specific to the genre of music. 

Actually, much of the credit for a shift in concert fashion culture should be owed to Selena Quintanilla. Only she could pioneer an entire subgenre of Chicana fashion with her original, handmade bralettes, tight leather or flared pants, jumpsuits, and hats, which managed to thrive independently of the music she made, as pointed out by Swift fan Jocey Flores. 

 “Her fashion choices also influenced how her fans wanted to be perceived and it's an aesthetic that has survived beyond her own years,” they said. 

When thinking about Taylor Swift and Beyoncé today, it’s too soon to say if their concert fashion will outlive the period they were born in or if it will stand on its own. But there are a lot of reasons that it exploded the way it did. 

For one, they’re both artists with huge platforms who have built long and meaningful careers with multiple albums, distinct eras, and different genres of music. As opposed to artists who tour one specific album and feature only a few songs from their past discography, Swift’s Eras tour was particularly unique in that it highlighted all 10 of her studio albums, bringing together fans from across age groups and creating anticipation about what “surprise songs” would be played at each venue and performance night. For another, it was a chance to feel some sort of normalcy after three years of pandemic restrictions and a total ban on public gatherings. 

“It was a big thing for even casual fans this year,” said Swift fan Caylee Gardener. “Since concerts have come back, people have enjoyed going all out for things and using concerts as an opportunity to dress up in ways they don’t usually get to. Especially if you have to travel to a show like I did, you might as well make it a whole thing with your friends.”

Interestingly enough, because Swift has created such unique looks and styles for each of her albums, fans dressing up as one of her “eras” has been a concert tradition arguably since the release of Fearless. As Gardener explains, dressing up for a pre-Eras tour to reference that particular album’s lore, lyric, inside joke, aesthetic, or music videos often got fans noticed by her team and taken backstage to meet her. Whether it was Starbucks t-shirts for 1989, all-black clothing for Reputation, or red heart sunglasses and red lipstick for Red as worn by fan Alyssa Lizarraga in 2013, it’s always been normal for fans to not just draw Swift’s lucky number “13” on their hands, but also completely embody the vibes of the era in their chosen outfit.

This year, the Eras tour was a chance for fans to dress up as their favorite era and show up to celebrate the culmination of Swift’s 10-album career. But the excitement didn’t start or stop at the concert itself, with preparation often starting weeks before the actual performance. In the lead-up to each show, people conducted research online on Pinterest, created group chats to exchange ideas with friends, handmade or thrifted their own outfits, and spent hours creating letter-bead friendship bracelets to wear and trade with other fans at the concert. 

When she attended a Swift concert in Chicago in June, Aela Morris saw people dressing up to reflect certain song lyrics, like “a cardboard car costume for the song ‘Getaway Car’” or one of her tour looks, as well as glitter, cowgirl hats, cowboy hats, fringe dresses, and knee-high boots. Other fans that I interviewed also reported that they wore everything they could thrift, buy, or pull from their closets like black corsets, denim skirts, rhinestone dresses, butterfly hoops, fringe tops, and up to ten friendship bracelets on both wrists. Part fashion show, part nightclub, part love letter to Swift, it created an environment of solidarity and excitement between fans, and made an otherwise casual concert experience that much more meaningful. 

“Putting together my outfit, seeing what other people were wearing, and making and trading friendship bracelets hyped up the concert so much more for me,” Lizarraga said. “I didn't always feel comfortable being public and enthusiastic about being a Swiftie amongst people I knew out of fear of being made fun of, so being able to finally go all out and be around people who were also going all out was a healing experience that felt very communal and embraced all kinds of outfits and interpretations of her eras.”

Up to this point, Beyoncé has not had as obvious eras as Swift in terms of distinct fashion styles. Still, she has created a just as loyal, if not more, fanbase that understands that concerts, at least hers, are reason enough to dress up how you would for any other important event. 

“This isn't karaoke at the local Applebees,” Lopez said, who has seen both Swift and Beyoncé live. “Beyoncé is music royalty and we are her faithful subjects so everyone always shows up in their finest.”

I’d argue that everything fashion-related changed for Queen B with the release of Renaissance. She’s always had iconic looks but to me, this felt like the first time fans has a specific aesthetic to mimic, which utilized the most it could out of silver, black, and sequins in her album visuals and vibe in reference to 80s vogueing and queer culture. In turn, she asked fans to dress up in silver to her concerts to celebrate Virgo season (which just so happens to be her astrological sign). 

And, as Lopez shared, they delivered in full force! She recalled seeing “full headpieces, sequined suits, very club renaissance black cowboy hats with sequins, silver bodysuits, bedazzled jeans,” and herself bought a metallic silver swimsuit, especially for the concert. Other fans like Amalia wore two outfits that included “a mesh top, a shiny crystal bra, ripped shorts and some black ankle length cowboy looking boots,” as well as chokers, silver eyeshadow, and glitter nail polish to reflect the silver and shimmer dress code.

As “die-hard” Beyoncé fan Jude Armstrong shared, part of what makes Beyoncé so powerful and unique is her connection to the Black community, especially in the South where Black history is crucial and foundational. He had the unique experience of seeing her in New Orleans, which they describe as being the perfect setting to see the icon perform because of what it means to music, community, and creative artistry. 

“The sense of community was already really strong because of how Beyoncé’s music seems to unite the Black community and the culture of New Orleans being very friendly and community-based. This feeling was heightened by being able to look out and see a sea of silver,” he said. “There was a lot of resilient self-expression there too; even though we were in the South, clothing had no gender, no arbitrary limits or expectations inside that stadium.”

Across the pop culture landscape, Swift and Beyoncé are not alone in their impact on fans. In 2022, Harry Styles fans like Fiona Hansen wore clothing “with sunflowers and daisies to fit Harry's flowery vibe” as well as bedazzled eye makeup. And ever since Bad Bunny entered the scene, more people than ever have worn 90s rave looks and crop tops to concerts. But it’s undeniable that these female icons have begun a trend for artists to curate a particular concert look beyond the genre of music they play and change concert culture from here on out. 

What’s also certain is that if you plan to see them in concert any time soon, you shouldn’t be afraid to look your best self. Even if you have to take off the glittery cowboy boots once you sit down in your seat (as Hansen experienced), seeing an artist you love, spending time with your friends, and embracing a semi-normal life are already more than enough reasons to celebrate in the best way most of us know how. Because we deserve it. Because these nights are ours to enjoy. 

As Beyoncé fan Amalia added, “Dress to the nines! And don’t feel ridiculous either. This is an experience you’ll never forget. These are both women who work hard to create a magical experience for you, so take part in it and match their energy too!”