Taylor Swift turned the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala into a surprise concert on October 17, performing a run of songs for a Los Angeles crowd packed with Hollywood names.
Two looks, one night
Swift arrived in a Dior gown before changing into a second look for her performance: a Ralph Lauren dress with a strapless, ruffled tulle bodice and a semi-sheer navy skirt scattered with small star-shaped embellishments that caught the stage lights. She paired it with Cartier jewelry, including sapphire Destinee sleeper earrings and a high jewelry necklace.
A set built from two eras
Her performance pulled from across her career, opening with older favorites like 'Blank Space' and 'Love Story' before moving into 'I Knew It, I Knew You,' her original song written for Toy Story 5. The highlight came when she gave 'The Fate of Ophelia,' from this year's The Life of a Showgirl, its first ever live performance.
Why she keeps showing up for nights like this
The gala itself raises money for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and Swift has talked before about what performing live means to her when she is away from the stage for long stretches. Earlier this year, she described her enduring pull toward people and emotion as the thing that keeps her writing. 'I'm still endlessly fascinated by people,' she said, 'by the human experience, by why people are the way they are, by the ways that they feel emotion.'
