Designer says she was ‘gobsmacked’ to see Taylor Swift wearing her dress during night out

‘We had no idea she even had the dress. It turns out she’d actually placed the order for it herself,’ designer says about Swift

Designer Jade Robertson shared her shocked reaction to Taylor Swift wearing one of her dresses during an outing with Blake Lively.

The designer spoke candidly about the 34-year-old singer’s recent look during an interview with The Times, published on 11 January. Robertson’s comments come days after Swift was spotted at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York with Lively, as the pop star was wearing a green, velvet long-sleeved mini dress from Robertson’s brand, Little Lies.

Speaking to The Times, Robertson expressed how stunned she was to see Swift in that dress, before explaining how she later discovered that the singer was the one who purchased the item.

[I was] just completely gobsmacked at first,” she said. “We had no idea she even had the dress. It turns out she’d actually placed the order for it herself. She’d actually ordered it and paid for it.”

According to the Scotland-based designer, she first found out that Swift had worn the dress through a WhatsApp message from a member of her design team. From there, the team member found the specific order, before coming to the belief that the “All Too Well” singer bought the item under a fictitious name.

Robertson then revealed to The Times that when she looked at her website on 11 January, the outfit worn by Swift – the Sweet Jane Olive mini dress – was already sold out. In addition, she specified that there was already a low stock of the dress since August 2023, when the look was first released.

However, Robertson shared that despite how popular the dress has now become – thanks to Swift – the cost of the look “will stay exactly the same”.

She also praised the “Anti-Hero” singer for both her career and style, adding: "I do love her music, but what I really love is that she’s worn this in a very Stevie Nicks way.”

On 11 January, Little Lies first took to Instagram to share snaps of Swift wearing the green dress, which she paired with gold necklaces, a black purse, and brown, leather thigh-high boots. In the caption, the brand went on to recall its reaction to seeing the Grammy Award winner in that look.

“Big moment for Little Lies waking up to see Taylor Swift has been photographed wearing our Sweet Jane Olive Mini Dress! Major ‘pinch me’ moment – she looks absolutely unreal and we LOVE how she’s styled it!” the caption reads.

Little Lies also noted that while the dress is now sold out, customers can still pre-order it on the brand’s website. The current cost of the dress is $76, with the small business noting that it will be shipped to customers as soon as it becomes available.

During an interview with People on 12 January, Robertson opened up about seeing Swift in Little Lies dress for the first time, calling 11 January “probably the wildest day” that her brand had “ever had”. She once again discussed how Little Lies didn’t initially realise that the pop star was the one who bought the outfit when the order was first placed.

“We didn’t know anything about it so we didn’t know that she even had the dress,” she said. “It wasn’t like a press gift or a PR situation. She literally placed the order and bought it herself. But we didn’t even know that ’cause she did it under a fake name.”

Speaking to the publication, Robertson also acknowledged how the purchase was such a big achievement for Little Lies, while referring to Swift as “literally the most famous person in the world”.

“For such a small independent brand, it’s so incredible of her to not only shop and support but to actually then wear it,” she added. “She knows what effect this is going to have better than anybody. So very very grateful for it.”

On 10 January, Swift was first spotted in the green mini-dress and her brown Jimmy Choo x Jean boots, which retail for $2,450. During the outing, she and Blake Lively had dinner at Lucali pizza restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

While she was photographed walking with her bestie, the Gossip Girl star wore a beige, suede mini skirt, and a black, yellow, and red striped sweater, paired with red chunky heels and a Louis Vuitton purse. For accessories, Lively opted for a silver ring and a gold necklace.

The Independent has contacted Little Lies and a representative for Swift for comment.