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At the recent Glastonbury Festival, legions of festival-goers hit dance stage Levels in the late afternoon to camp out for Charli XCX’s performance. The queue “was longer than the queue into the festival itself”, one social media user commented. Inside, the crowd was awash with Brat green, the hue now synonymous with Charli XCX and her album Brat, released 7 June. And Glastonbury’s not the only place the Brat aesthetic can be seen.
It’s officially Brat summer. Since the album’s June release, Brat has generated $22.5 million in media impact value (MIV), according to Launchmetrics (MIV analyses the value of a brand or individual’s posts, article mentions and social media interactions). Searches for items in Brat-style “slime green” surged 17 per cent in the past two weeks, according to global shopping platform Lyst. “In the tradition of Bottega Veneta’s Kelly green, Valentino’s PP pink and Gucci’s Ancora red, Charli XCX has taken complete ownership of a colour that is already an ambient presence in modern life,” wrote Vogue’s Daniel Rodgers, predicting that the hue will feature heavily on the catwalks this September — much like Barbie pink proliferated fashion last year.
Brands and retailers are hopping on the trend. Last week, UK luxury retailer Flannels sent out a Brat green edit to buyers and the press, with pieces in the shade from brands like Balenciaga and Coperni. New York label Kate Spade posted a Brat green starter pack on TikTok, suggesting its own products in the shade. Makeup brand ColourPop posted a guide to “be so Julia with these lime green faves”, inspired by Brat song ‘360’ (which references actress Julia Fox). And retailer BeautyBay posted “only using green beauty products this summer” with the caption “We’re calling ourselves beauty brats now.” And just yesterday, Athleisure brand Adanola teased a Brat inspired collection with the caption “Brat but make it Adanola”.
It’s not just fashion: in the run-up to the UK’s general election on 4 July, the Green Party created a Brat green graphic in the style of the album cover with the words “Vote Green” instead of Brat, to try and speak to young audiences.
Charli XCX may have a smaller reach than megastars like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, and she’s not a buzzy breakthrough star either (Brat is her sixth album). But the English songstress has captured the zeitgeist this summer by celebrating women’s insecurities as well as their confidence. Some point to the resonance with 2023’s rat girl summer trend of promoting body confidence and carefree living. “Charli creates an environment which is at once welcoming and loving, while still being completely off-the-walls and tough,” says Anna Meacham, founder of talent agency Huxley, which started working with Charli XCX (real name Charlotte Aitchison) five years ago, as her commercial agents and global publicists. “It’s inclusive and exclusive.”
On TikTok, audiences have become obsessed with Charli’s whole persona and everything Brat, says Kristina Karassoulis, head of luxury partnerships at TikTok in the UK. “With Brat going stratospheric both on and off TikTok, it was only a matter of time before it morphed into a viral aesthetic. Charli isn’t selling a perfect, polished image and fans on TikTok always respond well to content that is authentic and real.”
When asked the meaning of Brat, Charli XCX told TikTok series Off The Record, “You’re that girl who is a bit messy and loves to party and maybe says dumb things sometimes. She’s honest, blunt, and a little bit volatile. That’s Brat.”
How does this translate to fashion?
In 2024 so far, Charli XCX has driven $788,000 in MIV for Marni, $382,000 for Balenciaga, $257,000 for Givenchy, $257,000 for Saint Laurent and $116,000 for Y/Project, according to Launchmetrics data.
Meacham name checks designers like Jonathan Anderson, Marc Jacobs, Glenn Martens, Balenciaga’s Demna and Marni’s Francesco Risso as brands Charli has worn or partnered with on campaigns (the latter designed Charli’s dress for the Met Gala). “Charli’s references span raves to It-girls, club and internet culture. She has a clear vision and I love how brands have come into the Brat world,” says Meacham. “While many artists attend fashion shows for the short-term flex, there can be a lot of genuinely era-defining, iconic work which can happen when fashion and artists collide meaningfully.”
“Charli has been wearing my designs for years. I think the first time I saw her in my clothes was at Cannes in a couture gown I designed for Jean Paul Gaultier,” says Glenn Martens, creative director of Diesel and Y/Project. “Even though both brands have a different language and place in the industry, both Diesel and Y/Project are linked with the spirit of fun and freedom. They both push individuality. They stand for a ‘no bullshit’ mentality. Charli represents exactly that… and even more! She’s witty, ironic and, let’s be frank, she’s hot!”
Charli and her stylist Chris Horan also champion emerging talents, including Timothy Gibbons, who has made custom hoodies for her Partygirl raves. Charli wore London label Knwls’s Raze cardigan in a shoot for Rolling Stone, which prompted “a major uptick in sales around the world”, Knwls founders Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault write over email. Charli also wore some oversized denim trousers from Knwls SS24, they added, which were never produced. “Now everyone wants them.”
For brands, Charli’s off-the-wall spirit is attractive. “I think Charli’s sense of humour, her unapologetic attitude and understanding of the zeitgeist are very much connected to what we want the Knwls woman to be,” say Knowles and Arsenault. “She is special because she is able to take something like pop and elevate it to a different level, transforming something usually very simple into something very complex, while still being able to speak to a wide audience.”
In Charli XCX’s ‘360’ video from Brat, stars including Gabriette, Julia Fox and Chloe Cherry wore various looks from Scandi label EYTYS. The brand felt the reaction instantly on social media, says Eytys co-founder Max Schiller, and used the behind-the-scenes shots from the video shoot to promote the brand on social. The buzz led to Eytys being featured in scores of articles about Brat summer, boosting brand awareness with a new audience. “Charli’s ‘Brat pack’ is fierce, hot and intimidating, which I think separates them from other talents,” Schiller says, “That’s exactly what makes them a good fit for Eytys.”
More than an aesthetic
Much like the birth of Barbiecore last year — which followed a series of clever marketing moments, including the Barbie Airbnb and in-character costumes for the cast on the red carpet — Charli XCX and her team’s guerrilla approach to promotion has propelled the Brat summer trend.
A wall in New York’s Greenpoint neighbourhood that was painted Brat green and used for simple messages and announcements about the album launch has become an internet phenomenon. The term “Brat Wall” features in 5.7 million posts on TikTok. It was unveiled by Charli XCX standing on top of a car, lip-syncing her just-released single ‘360’ to crowds of fans, causing a roadblock. “We’ve all seen the videos,” Meacham says. Charli XCX’s TikTok video from the launch garnered 12.2 million views.
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The wall has now been taken down, but Brat summer isn’t ending anytime soon. This weekend, Charli XCX will take her pop-up Partygirl club night from Glastonbury to Ibiza super club Amnesia. It’s likely to be star-studded: previous editions have featured iconic artists and DJs like The XX’s Romy, Robyn and Shygirl. (Charli XCX’s show for Boiler Room in NYC received more RSVPs than anything in Boiler Room history, Meacham says.) The Sweat tour, a joint tour with Australian artist Troye Sivan, kicks off in September, and the Brat arena tour starts in November.
Last summer saw a proliferation of aesthetic micro-trends on TikTok, such as “tomato girl summer” and “rat girl summer” (the latter resonating with Charli XCX’s ethos by promoting body confidence and carefree living). Will Brat flame out as quickly?
With events planned throughout the year, brands can safely invest in the trend, experts say, likening it more to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter era or Barbiecore. “Brat is an attitude more than an aesthetic. It’s chaotic, brazen and fun; a welcome relief from the prettiness of coquette and Barbiecore, the properness of clean girls and quiet luxury,” says Katy Lubin, VP of brand and communications at Lyst. “While Brat green is trending, you can’t really buy Brat-specific products, which makes it a more exciting and elusive fashion mood. So I suspect we’ll continue to see brands and retailers pile onto the moment all summer, and I’m sure we’ll see Brat impact the September runway shows, too."
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