Taylor Swift's Affordable Fashion Choice Stuns Industry
In an exclusive revelation, the founder of a rural Scottish fashion business has detailed how Taylor Swift's selection of a £58 green velvet dress for this year's Grammy afterparty ignited a remarkable surge for her small brand. Jade Robertson, founder of Little Lies, describes the moment she realised the global superstar was wearing her design as both terrifying and exhilarating.
The Unbelievable Discovery
"My first thought was actually, 'Oh my God, have we copied someone's design by mistake and do I need to get a lawyer?'" Robertson recalls of January 2024, when she first saw photographs of Taylor Swift on a New York night out wearing what appeared to be her Sweet Jane Crushed Mini dress.
Initially sceptical that the world's biggest pop star would choose her modestly-priced creation, Robertson embarked on an online search for any similar "green velvet dress" designs, fully expecting to discover they had inadvertently replicated another designer's work. "I just didn't think it could be our dress," she admits.
The Pinch-Me Moment
After exhaustive research revealed no comparable designs, Robertson discovered the dress had indeed been purchased from Little Lies several weeks prior. Further investigation uncovered that on the same evening Swift wore the dress, additional orders for other items from the brand had been placed, suggesting the singer had been impressed enough to explore more of their collection.
"After the photos of her were out, it just went completely wild," Robertson explains. "We are a small brand, it was a £58 dress that is size inclusive. I think for her fans, when she's head-to-toe designer clothes, they can't afford it, but this was something they could actually afford and wear themselves, and feel good in."
Ethical Fashion Statement
The impact was transformative for the Scottish business. "It put our business in front of a whole different group of people and we got a seat at a table we wouldn't normally sit at," Robertson notes. She believes Swift's choice was deliberate and meaningful: "She doesn't do anything by half either, so I don't think it was an accident she picked a dress from an ethical, female-founded, independent business based in central Scotland."
Second Swift Endorsement
The story took another extraordinary turn when Swift wore a second Little Lies design before the release of her album The Tortured Poets Department. The dress, named "Rooms on Fire" after a Stevie Nicks song, appeared to be part of Swift's intricate pattern of musical references and Easter eggs.
Robertson observes: "We are called Little Lies, named after the Fleetwood Mac song, and the dress she wore the second time was called Rooms on Fire, which is a Stevie Nicks song. There's a poem on The Tortured Poets Department album written to Taylor from Stevie, and she's referenced in Clara Bow, so I think it's safe to say we were part of an Easter egg."
Conscientious Celebrity Support
The Scottish designer expresses profound appreciation for Swift's deliberate support of ethical fashion enterprises. "I love that, as much as I love her for her due diligence and supporting an ethically-made and female-founded business," Robertson concludes, highlighting how Swift's fashion choices extend beyond mere aesthetics to meaningful commercial and ethical statements.
This remarkable partnership between global superstar and small Scottish brand demonstrates how celebrity influence can transform independent businesses while promoting accessible, size-inclusive fashion to millions of fans worldwide.
