Illustration by Sinar Daily via MSN.
Neon green, black shades, smoky eyeshadow and an IDGAF attitude—this past summer became the revolution against the sweet, pre-existing feminine trends like “demure,” minimalism and the “clean girl” aesthetic.
This space had no room for softcore, sleek buns nor perfectionists. It forged a path for grunge, hedonism and a nice pair of combat boots.
And that messy magic leaked into the fall. Charlie XCX took over Saturday Night Live on Nov. 16, bringing back the iconic neon green, and just days after that, the British star doubled down on the moment by popping up in New York’s Times Square with a free concert on Monday, Nov. 18.
The flashing screens, pointed boots and black shades brought fans back to June. Every summer has a story, and for 2024 it was “brat” summer.
What Is Brat Summer?
The phenomenon is based off of Charli XCX’s hit album “brat,” which was released on June 7.
USA Today described the ‘brat’ album as “an embrace of a hot-mess pop star aesthetic, prioritizing [sic] club culture at its core but still offering introspective lyrics on ageing [sic], womanhood, grief and anxiety.”
When Charli XCX was asked what are the brat summer essentials, she responded by saying a “pack of cigarettes, a lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.”
This is seen in her music videos: she struts with heeled boots, an intense stare and even headbutts the camera with no care of blood dripping down her face. It’s chaotic and aggressive, but in a way, liberating for some, and even more likely if you’re a woman.
“At the end of the day, that’s exactly what brat is all about: me, my flaws, my f–k ups, my ego all rolled into one,” said Charli XCX.
And people rode with it.
Songs that caught people’s attention or resonated the most included:
- “365”
- “360”
- “Apple”
- “B2B”
- “Club Classics”
Be Brat, Be You
As summer progressed TikTok trends began to emerge from the ‘brat’ album, such as the iconic ‘Apple’ dance and ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish dance.
2024 Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris even incorporated Brat Summer into her campaign and countless brands played off of the trend.
“Understanding brat summer means understanding the album itself,” shared fan Dan Israel.
“For me, brat is about embracing your confidence and sexiness (‘360,’ ‘Von Dutch,’ and ‘Mean Girls’), meanwhile accepting yourself for who you are- flaws and all (‘I Might Say Something Stupid’ and Sympathy Is A Knife’).
“It’s about being both classy and trashy as long as it’s genuine. It’s about falling deeply in love, (‘Everything Is Romantic’ and ‘Talk Talk’), but also squashing any beef with friends and rising to new heights (‘Girl, So Confusing’ featuring Lorde). It’s about tearing up the club with loved ones (‘365’ and ‘Club Classics’), while also analyzing the past (‘Rewind,’ ‘Apple,’ ‘B2B’) and contemplating the future (‘I Think About It All The Time’ and ‘So I’).”
Soon after the initial “brat” album was released, Charli XCX began to release remixes to the songs with popular artists. Some of the remixes include “Von Dutch” ft. Addison Rae, “Guess” ft. Billie Eilish, “Girl, So Confusing” ft. Lorde and “Talk Talk” ft. Troye Sivan.
“’Brat Summer’ just meant being myself. I will never forget the huge impact it has had on me,” shared Carson Nellins.
Charli XCX released another album on Oct. 11, titled “brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.” The new album includes the rest of Charli’s remixes featuring artists such as Ariana Grande, Tinashe and more.
“The remix album is no different, and as she says, is about the idea that music is not fixed in stone,” Joan Summers wrote in PAPER, describing the hard launch. “Songs do not remain frozen in amber, nor are they immutable. None less so than dance music, itself as fleeting as the wind whipping all around us.”
And though Charli XCX kissed “goodbye forever brat summer” in September, it seems that people are still clinging to the chaos or maybe the antidote, as Harper’s Bazaar pegged it, that is “brat.”
“And though the memes often refer to the album’s themes of hedonistic partying and girlhood, the thing about Brat is that anyone or anything can be Brat…,” Jim of Under The Paving Stones wrote.
“The sillier or more random the connection the better, as long as it has to do with being yourself and not giving a f–k — especially if you’re marginalized by society in the first place.”
