Taylor Swift's Black "Showgirl" Bob Has a Deeper Meaning You Might Have Missed

Image Source: Emma McIntyre/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

Taylor Swift has officially entered her "The Life of a Showgirl" era, and she's kicking it off with a hair look absolutely no one saw coming. The singer gave fans a sneak peek at the album artwork for her twelfth studio album, which is set to drop on Oct. 3, and in one of the shots, she's wearing a jet-black, blunt bob haircut with brow-grazing bangs. At first glance, the haircut feels totally out of character and downright shocking but upon closer inspection, it's clearly a brilliant Easter egg.

The big reveal happened during a surprise appearance on Jason and Travis Kelce's podcast, "New Heights." The timing, of course, was no accident. The episode aired on Aug. 13 (Swift's lucky number), and the album's release date, Oct. 3 (10/3), also adds up to 13. "Always gonna try to force a 13 into the situation," she joked. But that's not the only detail that held a deeper meaning.

In the photos, shot by fashion heavyweights Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Swift serves full showgirl fantasy. The cover finds her partially submerged in a bathtub wearing a crystal-embellished Area gown ("My day ends with me in a bathtub, not usually in a bedazzled dress," she said). Another shows her in a pink ostrich-feather costume by The Blonds, rocking a glossy, sharp black bob and thick black eyeliner with a dramatic wing. If the look feels vaguely familiar, it's because it's likely a nod to Elizabeth Taylor's iconic role in the 1963 film, "Cleopatra." Swift's track list includes a song titled after the Old Hollywood actor.

In true Taylor fashion, the hair isn't just a look, it's a whole era, a fully formed character, and a headline-making statement. And if the visuals are any indication, "The Life of a Showgirl" is about to be her most over-the-top, high-glam spectacle yet.

Olivia Tauber is a freelance writer based in New York, pursuing her Master's in Journalism at NYU. She's the contributing assistant beauty editor at PopSugar and contributor to New York Magazine's The Cut, Interview, Bustle, SELF, and HuffPost. Her career began in corporate publicity at Showtime, followed by production for "The Pivot," an Emmy-nominated series.