Influencer Ashleigh Jade recreates Taylor Swift outfit: 'She helped me find my spark again'

SYDNEY, Australia — Ashleigh Jade embodies everything about the girl next door you've never met and the best friend you've always known. She is genuine, energetic and welcoming, and that translates not only across social media, but in real life. That's why the 35-year-old influencer is a successful entrepreneur who creates content for events and weddings with a splash of Taylor Swift viral videos.

"Last year I was going through a difficult time, and I needed to pivot," she said at a Teahouse event in the Crown Sydney. Jade, who has an impressive 1.3 million followers on Facebook and 122,000 on Instagram, openly speaks about the importance of mental health and doing things that bring happiness.

"I wanted to lean into things that brought me more joy, and that's been Taylor Swift and talking about the Eras Tour," Jade said. "She helped me find my spark again."

Jade started her Perth business, How Creative Media, with husband Alex Howell. The two are die-hard Swifties.

"Growing up I never really felt like I belonged to a group," Jade said. "Now I feel like I've found my people. We are accepted for who we are. I just love it. It gets so exciting when you talk about Easter eggs and love of the music."

For the Eras Tour, Jade knew she wanted to make her own outfit. She's never designed, never sewn and never bedazzled a full-fledged outfit, and she choose a daunting endeavor: the "Midnights" bodysuit that Swift wears.

"There were a lot of problems that I ran into," she said, "but I always found a solution. I spent so many sleepless nights on it."

She started the fashion project in December. In a seven-part video series on her Instagram, you can watch her gluing thousands of rhinestones into place (sometimes more than once), figuring out the fabric's bunching and adding a fringe skirt. Friends helped her at a "Swiftie Crafternoon" event she held where fans in Western Australia made friendship bracelets, and she finished days before the concert.

"I believe I will meet her one day," Jade said about Swift as tea and 10 insanely ornate treats arrived at the table. "I want to thank her for saving me through a dark time, because I know she's found a light at the end of it and that's helped me. But her music has also helped me celebrate some of the best times of my life, and this last year has been the most fun it's ever been."

Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network's Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.