Taylor Swift gave her official announcement of her next album and single drop date on her Instagram this afternoon. Reputation, the album, is out Nov. 10, and it has this cover art:
Swift's prologue to this was her three-day unveiling of a snake videoβwhat many fans believe is a reference to the snake emoji that became synonymous with her after Kim Kardashian teased and released the video of Taylor Swift discussing Kanye West's "Famous" lyrics with him on Snapchat. (The song contained the scandal-causing lyric, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous.)
Here's that original tweet, tweeted shortly before Kardashian posted her Snapchats:
And here's Swift's hissing snake, a year later:
But, as Buzzfeed notes, Swifties have found a couple more hints that Swift's album may contain some sort of response to Kimye and their renewed feud. Perhaps the most obvious is the title: Swift is here to defend her reputation (Reputation) after it took a hit from the Kimye Snapchat takedown.
Then there's the album art, which seems to have Yeezy vibes on it. Fans point out the font looks suspiciously like the one West used on his last release, The Life of Pablo, the album that contained the song "Famous". (It's not the same technically. An exact font hasn't been found, but fans have noted Swift's font looks very similar to Engravers Old English BT, aka the closest match to the custom font The New York Times uses on its logo):
The overlapping of text is also Yeezy-like:
Swift fans who dug deeper found that Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot the photo. Alas confirmed this by posting the album art on his Instagram along with a photo of him posing with Swift.
Mert and Marcus are big fashion photographers who have worked with Yeezy and Kim Kardashian (as well as Swift) multiple times before. They appear to be pretty close with Kardashian, so Swift tapping them to shoot her cover art could have been a deliberate nod to Kimye and their brand.
Fans also tweeted that the sweater Swift's wearing looks quite a bit like those in the Yeezy fashion line West puts out. The wet hair is also Kim Kardashian-esque:
Coincidence, perhaps, but probably not considering Swift does everything, from "13" easter eggs on her (old) Instagram to her original album social media blackout, with thought and purpose.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
