With around a million search hits on Tiktok, "brat summer" is expected to be one of the summer's big trends.
The concept includes cigarettes, a neon green signature color, and spontaneous tattoos.
This is how it started:
British artist Charli XCX is behind the trend. On June 7, she released "Brat", an electropop album with a neon green cover. The album received massive attention and reached millions of listeners already in the first week. In connection with the release, Charli XCX declared in a Tiktok video that summer 2024 is "brat summer".
This is the trend:
When the artist describes what characterizes "brat summer" in a later video, she uses the word "trashy".
A pack of cigarettes, a Bic lighter, and a white linen shirt with thin shoulder straps without a bra underneath, that's all you need, she says.
Party and spontaneous tattoos
According to New York Post, the trend represents for many users the opposite of the so-called "clean girl" aesthetic, which dominated during the pandemic. Instead of minimalism, neutral colors, and early mornings, "brat summer" is characterized by the neon green signature color from the album, partying, and waking up in yesterday's makeup.
Other things mentioned on Tiktok in connection with the trend are drinks like martinis and Red Bull vodka, wearing sunglasses indoors, or getting a tattoo without planning it beforehand.
It's not about luxury or showing off wealth – the key ingredients are strong female friendships, having fun, and a healthy dose of dirt, says beauty writer Katie Withington to Elle UK.
Politicians latch onto the trend
So "brat summer" has spread beyond Tiktok:
Pop star Lizzo is one of the celebrities who has noticed the trend on social media.
"It's officially brat summer", she writes in a video, while miming to the song "360" from the album in a lime green t-shirt.
Actors Julia Fox and Kyle Maclachlan have both praised the album, and Maclachlan describes himself as a "brat" in an Instagram post.
The neon green color and font on the album cover are distinctive features of the "brat" aesthetic. On Tiktok and Instagram, there are now filters that allow users to write their own slogans against a neon green background. The Green Party in England and Wales has also latched onto the trend. In an Instagram post, they use the same color and font, with the text "vote green".
Even language company Duolingo has been inspired by the aesthetic in a marketing campaign on X.
From financiers to brat summer – the trends on Tiktok follow each other in rapid succession. In our summer series, we write about some of the biggest buzzwords in the app, and unravel where they come from, what they mean, and how they have spread beyond Tiktok.
