Taylor Swift’s ‘secret shoot’ has caused a stampede to a Croydon shopping centre
Flocks of Taylor Swift fans are making the pilgrimage to a run-down shopping centre in south London after her latest video was filmed there in a ‘top secret shoot’.
The star-studded video for Opalite, destined for the top of the charts, was filmed in the Whitgift in Croydon, once a thriving state-of-the-art shopping mall but now past its glory days.
But Swift and her film crew identified the centre as the perfect backdrop for her 90s Rom Com themed video released at the weekend, which already has amassed nearly six million views.
The Shake It Off songstress even paid for the workers at the 1970s built shopping mall to take the day off when they shot the video last year.
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In one scene, Swift descends the Whitgift escalator with Domhnall Gleeson and goes into a shop front where Graham Norton is giving out samples of a fictional Opalite spray, giving the video a slightly surreal but romantic edge.
Tourists and shoppers have been taking selfies in front of the escalator which has now become a major attraction.
In the video, Swift comes down the escalator with her on-screen beau Gleeson eating a pretzel. Some fans were spotted by Metro recreating the iconic scene.
(Picture: Taylor Swift Productions Inc. & Merman)
Swift exits the escalator and enters the shop which is, in reality, a Clarks shoe store.
Clarks manager Jo says she had noticed people turning up to take a picture of the escalators after the video was released.
She said: ‘It was only our store that was used. It was mad. Obviously, it was all secret, so it was a relief when it all came out.
‘We didn’t know who it was at the time, though. It all looked mad.
‘I like Taylor Swift. We were here on the day, but I didn’t really see her.
‘Our windows were turned into the spray bottles. It was great. It looked like there was some soul and life in here.
‘I think it was a real boost for Croydon. People have come to take pictures of the escalators.
‘It was nice for the town that they chose here, but I think it was only chosen because it was empty.’
Charlie Tomkins, a security guard for Croydon’s Business Improvement District, was on patrol in the centre on Tuesday.
He told Metro: ‘It’s really getting loads of attention, it’s a big deal. It was top secret filming no-one was allowed to speak about.
‘The security staff were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. Some of the stores had to close to make way for the filming so the staff stayed home and their wages were paid by Swift’s company.’
The 27-year-old added: ‘There are lots of people taking pictures since they found out, and it’s gone crazy. I’m not a Swift fan but good for them. They pose by the escalator for pictures.’
Tess Donovan, 23, took a picture of the escalator along with dozens of others.
She told Metro: ‘I love Taylor Swift and I’m local so when I saw the chat about the video being at the Whitgift I thought ‘no way’ so had to come to see for myself.
‘Having grown up in the area to think Taylor has been at my local shopping centre is crazy.’
A shop worker told Metro: ‘There are people from all over the world taking pictures of that escalator. Whitgift has seen better days, but this is putting us back on the map.
‘Some people have even gone to extremes buying pretzels to take on the escalator like Taylor. ‘
Such was the veil of secrecy over the Swift video even managers at the centre were unaware who the star who required such high-level security was.
One told Metro: ‘I had no idea at all. I thought it was maybe Tom Cruise for Mission Impossible – we had no idea.’
Locals reflect on Whitgift Shopping Centre
The Whitgift Centre in the centre of Croydon was built between 1968 and 1970.
The site is more than 1,300 square feet and was a busy town centre hub but has been hit by a drop in footfall and has struggled to recover from Covid lockdowns.
Some locals praised Swift for putting Croydon ‘on the map’, though others fumed at reading articles describing the shopping centre as ‘abandoned’.
Most agreed, however, that it was a strange choice of location for the international pop star.
Friends Laura Williams and Eve Burgess both remembered the Whitgift Centre being abuzz with shoppers and had come down to reminisce after spotting it in Swift’s video.
‘Croydon used to be the place to be,’ 23-year-old Laura, a manager at Costa, said.
‘We used to come here every weekend. We saw online it was an ‘abandoned shopping centre’.
(Picture: Instagram/@taylorswift)
‘When we were kids, it was busy all the time, but I guess it kind of is abandoned now.
‘We haven’t been back in years, so we came to see it.’
‘I thought [Swift’s video] was made with AI,’ 25-year-old Eve, who works as a nanny, added. ‘It’s so weird. Why would she come to Croydon?’
Other quirky London venues used in the Opalite video include a dancing competition held at the Mildmay working men’s club in Newington Green, north London.
How was the Opalite music video created?
In an Instagram post, Taylor shared ‘that first spark of an idea’. She wrote, ‘It can happen at any time, for any reason. The idea for the Opalite music video crash landed into my imagination when I was doing promo for The Life of a Showgirl. I was a guest on one of my favourite shows, [The Graham Norton Show].’
The singer recalled enjoying the show’s relaxed, dinner-party-like atmosphere, explaining, ‘For those of you who aren’t familiar, it’s a UK late night show where Graham Norton (the insanely charismatic and lovable host) invites a random group of actors, entertainers, musicians, etc. to be on his show and we all sit there and chat like it’s a dinner party. They even serve wine.’
She added that she felt ‘ridiculously lucky’ with her fellow guests, including Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lewis Capaldi.
According to Taylor, the concept took shape when Domhnall joked about wanting to appear in one of her music videos.
‘He’s Irish! He was joking! Except that at that moment during the interview, I was instantly struck with an idea,’ she said, revealing that she sent him a script for ‘Opalite’ just a week later, with the actor in the starring role.
‘To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90’s with us and help with this video,’ Taylor added.
‘I had more fun than I ever imagined, made new friends, metaphors, and fashion choices. It was an absolute thrill to create this story and these characters.’