V&A museum seeks Swiftie to advise on Taylor Swift fan culture

The Victoria and Albert museum in London is seeking a British “Swiftie” to advise on the fan culture around Taylor Swift.

The position will be filled before Swift begins the European leg of her Eras tour in May. Beyond the three-hour performance put in by the 34-year-old pop star, the shows have become notable for fans swapping friendship bracelets (inspired by a lyric in her 2022 song You’re on Your Own, Kid), wearing Swift-themed costumes and painting homemade signs – artefacts the museum is said to be interested in.

The post will be one of five superfan advisers that the museum is appointing to inform the collection at the V&A and “the current cultural trends that will inform the future of museum collecting”. The other subjects are Crocs, tufting, drag and emojis.

Four previous roles – advising on toby jugs, Pokémon cards, Lego and gorpcore clothing – the trend of wearing outdoor wear as streetwear – have already been filled.

The museum’s director Dr Tristram Hunt said: “These new advisory roles will help us celebrate and discover more about the enormous, and often surprising, creative diversity on offer at the V&A, as well as helping us to learn more about the design stories that are relevant to our audiences today.”

Successful applicants for the Swift role will surely evince a depth of knowledge dating back nearly two decades: literacy in “No it’s Becky”, the alleged secret album Karma, the “scrunchie theory”, “maple latte” and “I ♥ TS”.

Successful applicants will be paid per session. Applications close on 7 March. For non-Swifties, the museum is also hiring several roles pertaining to its David Bowie archive.