The leader of Reform UK was spotted wearing a surprising accessory on the campaign trail in Nottinghamshire
Has Nigel Farage been taking style notes from Taylor Swift’s Eras tour?
It’s a notion that sounds inconceivable, but the Reform UK leader was pictured wearing a woven, beaded bracelet on the campaign trail in Nottinghamshire on Tuesday; one that bears a close resemblance to those worn by young fans attending the superstar singer’s current string of UK gigs.
So is Farage a “Swiftie”? No, of course he’s not so down with the kids. His political ideals align best with older voters, many of whom have become disillusioned with the Conservatives.
Rather than the beads spelling out one of Swift’s hit songs, like Blank Space or Fearless, closer examination of the politician’s bracelet reveals that the letters on the beads read “REFORM”. His “gap yah” bracelet has become his latest political messaging tool, one that suggests he’s trying to harness support from younger voters too.
“The bracelet is a strategic choice,” says Dr Benjamin Linley Wild, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Narratives at Manchester Metropolitan University. “As Farage seeks to split the Conservative vote and demonstrate that Reform UK can become a credible opposition party, it hints at a more approachable, possibly more emotional side to his character. It suggests Nigel is ‘like us’. This is an important, shrewd message to convey because the Prime Minister’s clothing and accessory choices during the election campaign have generally emphasised his distance from the electorate. When Sunak boarded a train to Cornwall, it was widely reported that he carried a monogrammed backpack costing over £700.”
Farage isn’t the only unlikely figure to embrace the beaded bracelet beyond the age of 19. Jeremy Clarkson was widely ribbed for wearing wooden beaded bracelets on The Grand Tour in 2017. On Prince Harry, they’re a bit more on-brand; he’s always seen with a couple of woven or beaded bracelets on his wrist, representing his love of Africa – he’ll even wear them with Savile Row tailoring.
In the first portrait of King Charles as a monarch, by Alistair Barford, he too is seen with a bracelet given to him by Amazonian indigenous leader Domingo Peas.
Love him or loathe him, it has to be said that Farage is quite good at using his wardrobe to get his message across. His Union Jack shoes are certainly memorable. His wide, novelty ties, and bright yellow cords command attention, too. He’s hard to ignore. The friendship bracelet is clever – this summer, teens will be wearing wrists full of them, and here we are discussing his, at 60.
Farage continues a long tradition of politicians weaponising their wardrobes. “They appear to reveal something deeper and more authentic about the wearer because we think of them as an after-thought or something that is worn habitually,” says Dr Wild. “In reality… politicians and other leaders frequently weaponise them, especially in an age when images really can mean more than a thousand words when shared across social media.”
Of course, inexpensive woven, beaded and rubber bracelets have long been used as a means of communication, and not just to signify friendship. They had a major moment 20 years ago, when countless celebrities, including Bill Clinton, Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, wore yellow “Livestrong” bracelets in support of the Lance Armstrong-founded Livestrong Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer.
Also typical of the era were prayer beads, and red string Kabbalah bracelets, most famously worn by Madonna. They’d be stacked with festival wristbands, worn long after the event – brag bracelets as evidence that you’d camped in a field to see your musical heroes.
Now they’ve seen a resurgence, thanks to Swift, who sang about them in the 2022 song, You’re On Your Own, Kid. The lyrics include: “So make the friendship bracelets/Take the moment and taste it”. Fans with tickets for her Eras tour have seized upon the accessory, stacking their arms and trading them with fellow Swifties at concerts. It’s such a phenomenon that Hobbycraft, which sells bracelet-making supplies, reports that sales of beads have risen by over 500 per cent.
Farage tends to have the opposite effect on fashion items. When he wore Adidas Gazelle trainers he, alongside Rishi Sunak, effectively killed them off as a style staple. His woven bracelet risks the same fate.
Might he start a wave of Swiftie-style bracelet trading at his next Reform party gathering? Swift has endless lyrics to mine for inspiration – he’ll need a team of spin doctors to start working on more slogans.
Related Topics
- Taylor Swift,
- Nigel Farage,
- Reform UK,
- General Election 2024,
- Rishi Sunak
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