Taylor Swift's "Opalite" Music Video Outfits Trade 'Showgirl' Sequins for '80s Trends

Taylor Swift and Domnhall Gleeson on the set of the Opalite music video

(Image credit: Taylor Swift)

Forget the towering feather headdresses, the bejeweled, glittering dresses, and all that vintage Bob Mackie. Taylor Swift's "Opalite" music video outfits, the start of her Life of a Showgirl style era's second chapter, are playfully, meaningfully anti-2026 fashion trends and runway designers. Think less pop star "in her glittering prime," more everyday girl circa 1994.

On February 6, Taylor Swift returned in her first music video since October's smash-hit "The Fate of Ophelia" with an ode to being your authentic self—and finding someone who's equally on-board—with a dash of nostalgic '90s trends. (Right now, it's exclusively streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.)

Stylist Joseph Cassell Falconer appeared to do more vintage sourcing than shopping Swift's favorite luxury labels for this one. In the five-minute video, Swift plays a "Lonely Woman" (per the credits), whose best friend is a rock until a spritz of "Opalite" spray makes her over, and introduces her to a perfect match in Domhnall Gleeson. (Before he's magically connected with Swift, his companion is a cactus.) She moves through her isolated days in ribbed tank tops, choker necklaces, and light-wash jeans—and in a nod to the Eras Tour, she beads a friendship bracelet for her non-sentient friend. Free People overalls and a vintage Ralph Lauren polo dress also make cameos.

Taylor Swift wears a pink tank top and choker necklace in the opalite music video — Taylor Swift plays a "Lonely Woman" in the "Opalite" music video, dressed in '90s staples like chokers, ribbed tanks, and acid-wash jeans.

Taylor Swift on a swingset in the Opalite music video — Here, Swift styles a vintage sweater with buckled Colate ankle boots.

The throwback fashions continue once Swift and Gleeson meet, abandoning their former companions for something more...animated. They lace up Reebok Club C sneakers (and the soon-to-relaunch Reebok Freestyle Hi shoes). They take mall photos in coordinating patterned sweaters and high-waist denim—plus a vintage Guess denim vest for the pop star. Swift even accessorizes in tune with the decade, topping her hair with oversize scrunchies and slinging a fanny pack around her waist. (Credits for the looks are slim at press time, but Marie Claire will add them as they are identified.)

Throughout the video, a group of celebrities make cameos in equally nostalgic outfits. Jodie Turner-Smith plays an aerobics instructor in a bright pink leotard and sneakers. Greta Lee gets into character as an indie musician in a flowing white dress. Lewis Capaldi plays the mall photographer in his own wallpaper-esque sweater and jeans.

Taylor Swift Domnhall Gleeson and Lewis Capaldi in the Opalite music video — Mall photoshoots are a '90s staple, so Swift and Gleeson laced up their Reeboks for their close-ups with Lewis Capaldi.

Taylor Swift wearing a cat sweater and fanny pack in the opalite music video — Swift hits the mall with Gleeson in a vintage cat sweatshirt and fanny pack.

The video's grand finale takes place at a dance competition where Swift and Gleeson prance in intentionally dorky, glittery sweatsuits. (The color palette, baby blue and orange, plays off the color scheme of Swift's official Showgirl album art.) They earn scores of straight zeros from the judging panel, but they don't care. Their matching outfits and goofy grins say they're both on the exact same page.

Swift had teased the single's release with a look more attuned to her previous Showgirl era style. In promotional images for "Opalite," she wears a light blue sequin bodysuit by Zuhair Murad Couture with Zydo Italy chandelier earrings. Like her late-night interview dresses by David Koma and Wiederhoeft on the press circuit, and her outfits throughout the "Fate of Ophelia" music video, this early look had suggested a video full of iridescent sequins and over-the-top designer credits. In reality, the video was about the sort of company that makes you feel like you're coated in sparkles—even if your wardrobe is more lackluster, and your life looks nothing like a couture runway.

Taylor Swift in the Opalite music video with Domnhall Gleeson wearing sequin jumpsuits — Swift ends the music video in a custom sweatsuit—cut from Showgirl-coded orange and baby blue glittering fabric.

In hindsight, viewers now know that Taylor Swift had hinted at the "Opalite" music video and its '90s-inspired looks in plain sight. Joining Gleeson, Lee, Turner-Smith, Cillian Murphy, and Lewis Capaldi on The Graham Norton Show in October (where she wore a glittery David Koma dress) led to the pop star casting them in her music video.

"I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton Show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too," Swift explained on Instagram. "Like a school group project but for adults and it isn’t mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90’s with us and help with this video."

She also alluded to the left-turn styling by Joseph Cassell Falconer in her caption. "I had more fun than I ever imagined - Made new friends, metaphors, and fashion choices," she said.

taylor swift wearing her engagement ring on the graham norton show — Taylor Swift joined her "Opalite" music video co-stars on the *Graham Norton Show* in October—but no one in the audience knew it was coming.

So what's the grand takeaway from the "Opalite" music video outfits? It seems you don't have to dress up to dance through the lightning strikes.

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Outfit credits will be added as they become available.

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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up, to The A-List Edit, a newsletter where she tests celeb-approved trends IRL.

Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For more, check out her Substack, Reliable Narrator.