Taylor Swift Is in Her Showgirl Era

Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, suggests in its title an interest in artifice. The showgirl, clad in Bob Mackie sparkle in the album’s promotional photography, is a facade in feathers and fishnets. This is the final product of a showgirl onstage, whatever you want her to be, humanity blurred out by the glare of klieg lights.