2025 Grammy Predictions

My thoughts on what she’ll wear this year (and maybe next era)

The Grammys are on Sunday, February 2. Winners are chosen by the Recording Academy and represent the highest honours given in music. It’s by far the most consistent award show Taylor has attended in her career — a total of 11 appearances since 2008. Ahead of the ceremony, I wanted to take a two-way walk through Taylor’s fashion.

First, recapping her previous red carpet moments.

Then, what I think she might wear (and why) this year.

Taylor heads into the 2025 ceremony, held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the reigning Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album of the year holder (both for Midnights). Taylor is the most lauded artist in the AOTY category with a grand total of four wins (Fearless in 2010, 1989 in 2016, folklore in 2021, and Midnights in 2024) and she is also nominated in both of these categories (in addition to four others) this year.

Her half dozen nominations are all in service of her eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department which was released last April.

Her nominations include:

• Album of the Year (TTPD)

• Best Pop Vocal Album (TTPD)

• Record of the Year (“Fortnight” ft Post Malone)

• Song of the Year (“Fortnight” ft Post Malone)

• Best Music Video (“Fortnight” ft Post Malone)

• Best Pop Duo/Group (“us.” ft Gracie Abrams)

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To set the scene of where we are, let’s first look at the road from whence we came. Read on for an overview of Taylor’s 11 previous appearances on the Grammys red carpet.

2008 in Sandi Spika: Baby’s first Grammys! Taylor was nominated (and lost) this night for Best New Artist. But as we know, in your life you’ll do things greater than winning Best New Artist at the Grammys. The colour, the corsetry, the shiny fabric of this Sandi Spika gown is all so fantastically (traumatically) mid-aughts prom. But don’t those botanical details almost remind you of a willow tree? (Photo by Frazer Harrison via Getty Images)

2009 in Kaufmanfranco: I’ve often voiced that the 2009 Grammy moment is one of the most underrated. But maybe that’s coming from someone who dresses in black 99% of the time. Just love that swooshy soft curly updo and the earrings that frame her angelic face. Taylor wasn’t nominated for anything this night, but she was fresh from the November 2008 release of Fearless. P.S. Isn’t it so funny how Easter Egg happy we all are now reading into colours when neither of her Fearless appearances have a hint of yellow or gold? That said, not to get too ~reachy~ but I feel there’s something about the loose billowing of the silhouette on this Kaufmanfranco gown and the criss-cross strappy detail that gives the essence of a Romeo-worthy tunic. #doyouseethevision? (Photo by Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images)

2010 in Kaufmanfranco: Baby’s first AOTY! This was an absolutely huge night for Taylor. It was her first taking home Grammy hardware. A total of four: Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Fearless + Best Female Country Vocal and Best Country Song for “White Horse”. It also marks a red carpet signature for Taylor: the sparkle. The blue on this Kaufmanfranco gown reminds me a little of the sparkle tank top shift dresses she loved wearing in 2008 (and that I think are the partial inspiration for the sequined t-shirt dresses she wears on the Eras Tour in the Midnights set). (Photo by Dan MacMedan via Getty Images)

2012 in Zuhair Murad: Spotted: A forehead! Taylor doesn’t often wear her hair in a scraped back bun like this, but I think it was the right call to balance out the high mock neckline of her Zuhair Murad gown which not only features a keyhole cutout in the front but a pretty dramatic open back as well. Taylor won two Grammys this night, both for “Mean”. I like to think of Speak Now as Taylor’s earliest openly defiant albums and it pleases me to think of a 22-year-old Taylor manifesting this particularly gratifying win (particularly for a song written about one of her earliest critical takedowns) by dressing to match her gramophone trophy. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images)

2013 in J. Mendel: Early in Taylor’s career when she was releasing albums in the Q4 of an even year (a trend that repeated itself for her first five albums), the Grammys of the odd year following were always an ‘in between’ ceremony where only the lead single off her most recent album was eligible. In this case, she had three nominations in 2013 - one for “WANEGBT” and two for her Hunger Games soundtrack contribution “Safe & Sound”. The latter of which ended up taking Best Song Written for Visual Media. And I suppose it’s a good thing that her awards for this night weren’t very memorable because I’d like to personally forget this J. Mendel gown and its incongruous styling of a milkmaid braid and equally extraneous (and poorly done) silver metallic cage detailing straps on what is otherwise a soft (bland) accordion pleated Grecian-inspired gown. (Photo by Steve Granitz via Getty Images)

2014 in Gucci Première: My favourite Taylor Grammy look and her best of all her appearances. Easily. Handily. Clearly. By a landslide-ly. Maybe I’m just a sucker for a column silhouette but she looks statuesque and stunning in this Gucci gown. The gunmetal smokey shadow with the soft pink lip and the fun kicky ponytail to add a playful touch to what is otherwise a v elegant moment. Luckily for me, this look is so good it’s just about eclipsed the memory of the Random Access Memories jumpscare for AOTY and Taylor (Photo by Jason Merritt via Getty Images)

2015 in Elie Saab: I’ll get this out of the way off the top: Both 1989 Grammy looks (while I love and respect how loved and respected they are by the fandom) are simply not my favourite. As an ‘odd’ year, Taylor’s three nominations this evening were all for “Shake It Off” (ROTY, SOTY, and Pop Solo) and it was subsequently shut out of all categories. But not to worry, 1989’s time is coming just around the corner. Affectionately, I call this Elie Saab high/low gown the ‘ombre mullet mermaid dress’. I do love the decision to opt for thoroughly modern and bold accessories from the heelless Giuseppe Zanottis and almost seashell-like Lorraine Schwartz earrings. (Photo by Jason Merritt via Getty Images)

2016 in Atelier Versace: The ultimate ode to the crop top and of course the night of Taylor’s second AOTY win. This uber saturated Versace bandeau and skirt has also earned itself the (again, affectionate) nickname from me of ‘Malibu Barbie Wintour’. Indeed, Taylor’s bob was confirmed by Taylor as inspired by Vogue editor Anna Wintour. While this look is not a favourite of mine, I like the colour coordinated jeweled choker (doesn’t it remind you of today’s Versace chokers on the Eras Tour for the Lover set?). And, of course, this was the grandest homage to the signature 1989 era look of the co-ordinating set. (Photo by John Shearer via Getty Images)

2021 in Oscar de la Renta: This night was historic for a multiple of reasons. It marked the end of Taylor’s Grammy drought (of a dozen nominations between 2018 and 2021 she won only one). It marked her third AOTY win - making her the only female to do so. And it marked the only time (thus far) that Taylor has gone short at the Grammys. Typically, on a night like this Taylor will go for a grand full-length moment. But just as she subverted all expectations with the surprise release of folklore, she continued to do so on music’s biggest night with this sweet and soft floral Oscar de la Renta dress - a testament to the whimsy and the woodsy nature of folklore. I loved how this floral motif just seemed to make her one with nature - a full commitment and ‘becoming one with’ this mystical, magical, illusory, fairytale world she had created when we all needed it most in the midst of the pandemic. The perfect finishing touches were the folklorian space buns and the sweet ankle ties on her Christian Louboutin heels. (Photo by Kevin Mazur via Getty Images)

2023 in Roberto Cavalli: I consider this a great triple threat Easter Egg: An homage to the evening glitz and glamour of Midnights ℅ the colour + smattering of starry embellishments + doorknocker statement Lorraine Schwartz earrings, a hint at the forthcoming release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) ℅ the crop top, and an early indicator of one of the designer contributors to the Eras Tour costuming ℅ Roberto Cavalli. While appropriate on all fronts (despite not nodding at all to RED [Taylor’s Version] which was the project at hand she was nominated for - I still mourn the loss of “ATW10MV” for SOTY), I think I would have preferred this as a full length backless gown for a bit of #businessupfrontpartyintheback energy. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff via Getty Images)

2024 in Schiaparelli: The fact that in a year when Taylor attended only three major awards ceremonies and TSSers did not put her 2024 Grammys look in their Top 3 Event list, I think, speaks volumes about this look. Last year, I had noted that this look fell on a sharpened Easter Egg sword. It’s an example when foreshadowing comes before fashion. It’s a nice gown, but this was a clear moment for me when the cost of Egg-mission is too high when this is the best Schiaparelli can do for such a momentous occasion.

More than any other awards ceremony, this is a night that honours and centers Taylor’s work. Of her 11 previous appearances, I’d make the case that 4 of them most directly and clearly reference the established aesthetic of an era, either of that moment or forthcoming. Those would be 2024 for Tortured Poets, 2023 for Midnights, 2021 for folklore, and 2016 for 1989. I could even argue for 2008’s on behalf of debut. At most, that’s a 45% batting average. Which isn’t great odds when it comes to making predictions with the logical assumption it will align by the era. But one could also argue that Taylor(‘s fans) has(ve) never put as much stock in Eggs as she has in recent years - and four of those are her most recent appearances at the Grammys.

When it came to making predictions, I felt I had four options of where this red carpet could go. All with varying degrees of mileage.

• Tortured Poets: A darker inverse of last year’s white Schiaparelli gown.

• reputation (Taylor’s Version): A snakelike gown alluding to the release of this highly anticipated re-record.

• Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version): Something in the blue/teal family, perhaps with ruffles and a long train.

• TS12: Something to reference an upcoming album’s aesthetic. Aka closing my eyes and throwing a dart into space.

Of course, there was also a secret fifth option:

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