There is plenty to unpack in Taylor Swift’s latest music video, “You Need to Calm Down.” To visually represent her Pride anthem, Swift and her co-director Drew Kirsch piled on the Easter eggs, pop culture references, and a Change.org petition for three minutes worth of pastel-tinted fun for a great cause. There were drag queen versions of today’s top pop stars, plus Ryan Reynolds doing his best Bob Ross impression, but the most surprising moment came courtesy of Katy Perry and her now famous Met Gala hamburger dress.
The Jeremy Scott design made its debut at the gala’s camp-themed after-parties in May and immediately struck a chord with Perry’s fans. Meme-ed into oblivion, it now ranks as one of the star’s all-time wildest looks. Unlike most talked-about celebrity red carpet dresses, however, it actually was worn more than once: this time with a junk food companion in the form of Swift’s coordinated French fry getup. Accurate down to its bright red McDonald’s box and plenty of ketchup, Swift’s outfit was appropriately absurd.
Clad in the Moschino equivalent of a Happy meal, Swift and Perry reunited with an onscreen hug and plenty of social media love. After years of the media pitting both performers against each other, the moment was sweet, especially given the song’s message of tolerance and friendship. None of this was lost on the man behind the designs and Scott couldn’t resist taking to Instagram to share a shout. “Bringing people together through fun & fashion since, well 1989,” he wrote. Well said.
Originally published on Vogue.
Editor
Janelle Okwodu
