Taylor Swift friendship bracelet fad catches on with S'pore fans, businesses see brisk sales
SINGAPORE — As soon as her A-Level exams ended in November last year, 18-year-old Aayushi Tarafdar got started on something she had put off for months: Making friendship bracelets.

Ms Aayushi Tarafdar with her friendship bracelets, photographed on Feb 25, 2024.
This audio is AI-generated.
- Legions of Taylor Swift fans in Singapore and around the world have been busying themselves with making friendship bracelets
- The trend of wearing friendship bracelets, which has its origins in the 1970s, was revived when Swift started her Eras Tour in March last year
- This revival had been inspired by lyrics in her song You’re On Your Own, Kid, which has a line that mentions the accessory
SINGAPORE — As soon as her A-Level exams ended in November last year, 18-year-old Aayushi Tarafdar got started on something she had put off for months: Making friendship bracelets.
She had been wanting to do this since it was announced in June that Taylor Swift would be performing in Singapore in March 2024. Ms Aayushi intends to take the friendship bracelets to the concert, to wear or trade with fellow Swifties.
The friendship bracelet fad, which had its origins in the 1970s, has enjoyed a massive revival, thanks to the American singer whose song You’re On Your Own, Kid has a line that mentions the accessory.
Since she started her Eras Tour in March last year, the internet had been flooded with tutorials on how to make these bracelets, with some TikTok clips amassing millions of views.
For Ms Aayushi, she started out by making about 40 bracelets to give to her friends, each bracelet customised with a friend’s name.
“While it was challenging at first, I soon got the hang of it as I became more experienced at making them,” she said. “Now it takes me five to 10 minutes to bead and tie a bracelet.”
Since then, she has made 80 more bracelets, each featuring a theme related to Swift, like a song title or even lyrics.
She intends to sell the bulk of them and wear the remainder for Swift's March 3 concert.
Ms Aayushi is among legions of fans in Singapore and around the world who have been busying themselves leading up to Swift’s tour dates in their cities with the making these bracelets.
And it is not just fans who have been enamoured by the craze — craft shops here have also benefitted, seeing an increase in sales since the trend started last year.

‘PART OF THE EXPERIENCE’
Swift fans do not just wear these bracelets to her gigs but also trade them with other concertgoers.
This was what 25-year-old Sri Vidya did when she attended Swift's show in Sydney, Australia on Saturday.
The digital marketing senior analyst told TODAY that she initially tried to make the bracelets herself with a craft kit that she bought online.
But she found it too difficult to string the beads together, so she bought 10 pre-made bracelets from Carousell for S$10 altogether instead.
Right before the show where Ms Vidya said she had “the best night of my life”, she managed to trade all her bracelets with other fans.
“As I was on the way to the venue, I saw some Swifties dressed up in the train, so I traded with them. And then outside the stadium too, when people were taking pictures, I approached some people to trade with,” she said.
Being able to trade bracelets had also elevated her concert experience.
“It's part of the whole experience of being a fan, we’re all excited and in this together, and that's why it's so easy to make friends and trade bracelets,” she said.
“It’s so nice to be a part of something so heartwarming, it's like we’re a family.”
Another fan who is looking forward to donning her self-made bracelets is 25-year-old Belle Phai, who managed to snag tickets to all six of Swift’s concerts here.
She began making the bracelets even before the tickets went on sale last year, and as of now has made 78 bracelets in total. She plans to wear 13 bracelets for each show, as it is Swift’s lucky number.
Not only will her bracelets feature the names of her albums, songs and lyrics, but also “iconic” phrases that Swift has uttered in her interviews.
“It’s my first time bringing, making and exchanging friendship bracelets at a concert,” said Ms Phai, who works in the finance industry.
“Only Taylor Swift can hype me up to do this… I cannot wait to experience this once-in-a-lifetime concert.”
BUSINESSES SEE BRISK BRACELET SALES
Several accessories businesses here have also jumped on the friendship bracelet trend leading up to Swift’s concert, and have released promotions and special bracelet-making events, in light of increasing demand from Swifties.
One such firm is craft studio At Twenty One. Its founder, Ms Flora Huang, said she realised that the demand for bracelet-making sessions at the studio began to rise the moment Swift announced her tour dates here.
While an average of five customers a day came to make bracelets at the studio before the shows were announced, there were about 16 to 20 customers a day since the tour dates were released.
On average, a Swift fan would also make about five to six bracelets in one session.

“Initially, we released the bracelet activities for friends and couples to make matching bracelets,” said Ms Huang, 21.
“Our price was originally higher, but when Taylor Swift fans came, they came and made friendship bracelets, and they make a lot, and so we have a promotion for them.”
The studio's original price is S$5 for one bracelet.
But under this promotion, which runs from March 1 to March 8, Swift fans can make first bracelet at S$5, and pay a dollar less for subsequent bracelets.
However, Ms Huang forecasts that this is just a passing trend that will fizzle out once the concerts are over.
“Closer to her concert, the demand is dying down, because everyone has already brought their own materials or made the bracelets already.”