Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and fans are already excited about the extraordinary cover photo. Taken by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, the image depicts Swift immersed in water and wearing a sparkling dress. Collectively known as Mert & Marcus, the duo have produced about twenty phenomenal album covers for world renowned artists including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Cher, and Nicki Minaj.

They also have a previous collaboration with Swift on the visuals for her 2017 album Reputation; they also worked with her when she was the cover story for Vogue in 2016. The images they produced have been staples of high fashion campaigns including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior and a few more. Swift praised the photographers, above, explaining, “The last time I worked with them on Reputation. And I knew I wanted them again for this one, which I am so happy with.”

The Album Cover Reveal

The Life of A Showgirl Alternate Cover
The daring photo is revealed to be the alternative cover for ‘The Life of A Showgirl’.

Swift revealed the new album on August 13, via an episode of New Heights, a podcast by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason Kelce. She revealed the cover and mentioned there would be additional photos revealed inside the album packages. “I love the photography so much I don’t want to share it all now. I want to keep some mystery alive,” she said.

Swift’s decision to collaborate with Mert & Marcus again demonstrates Swift’s interests in being very intentional with her image. The pair described her as having “the most incredible photographic eye” in their interview with Time, after their earlier collaborations. For some time now, Taylor’s love of photography has been reported, even being seen from time to time having her Olympus E-M10 IV camera in 2024.

Looking towards October Release

The Life of a Showgirl is set to be released on October 3, 2025. The underwater cover picture has already drawn implications of being an iconic album cover from music history, and the excitement continues to build. With Mert & Marcus handling the visuals and Swift spending those months developing the project, the new album is once again going to be a musical and visual statement from one of the biggest music stars today.