While most of us would recoil at the idea of embracing being called a snake, Taylor Swift has wrapped her brain and brand around it, writes Omeshnie Naidoo.
Turning comments about her “reptile” reputation on its head, Taylor Swift drew inspiration from a Bulgari serpant necklace in her latest video.
While most of us would recoil at the idea of embracing being called a snake, Swift has wrapped her brain and brand around it.
In her latest video Look What You Made Me Do, released at the VMAs recently, she plays up all the stereotypical versions of herself.
The video, directed by Joseph Kahn, is rife with symbolism and designed to address all the hate Swift has received in recent times, but phenomenally turns it on its head.
According to YouTube, Look What You Made Me Do had the biggest debut of any video in its history, with 43.2 million views in 24 hours. It hit 100 million views in just four days. Make no mistake, its CNN and Forbes that are writing about the artist, not just bloggers - she's big industry business.
What's bound be be a trend though is all the high-end reptile-inspired jewellery she sported in the video.
There's a long, ugly and hurtful history but #TaylorSwiftIsASnake was the hashtag for those on Twitter wishing to take the singer to task, which is why it's awesome that the talented songwriter and singer has chosen to rock reptile.
Most memorable is a shot of her being served tea by a snake, while she sits on a throne in a red cutout Balmain dress with a 22-carat Bulgari Serpenti necklace.
The necklaces themselves have an iconic history and are highly coveted pieces of jewellery.
Snake as a villain, becomes sexy.
The serpent's use by the distinguished Italian luxury brand is reflective of Bulgari’s Greco-Roman heritage, where it is a symbol of rebirth, seduction and power.
Serpentiform, which is on exhibition in Singapore at the moment, shows off diamond, rubies and sapphires among enamelled scales. The brand describes their snakes as creations pulsing with beauty, designed to adorn a contemporary goddess.
No doubt these jewels are in for a celeb revival, sure to encircle the wrists and coil around the necks and fingers of some of the world's most wealthy women.