A dummies guide to ‘brat’ summer

It’s 2024, and it’s time to trade in the sleek buns, subtle skin tints and pristine white T-shirts for slept-in eyeliner, tramp stamps and a party-girl attitude. You don’t have to like it, but what was once simply a dance pop album released by British singer Charli XCX has now morphed into what can only be described as a phenomenon.

The singer released her sixth studio album, brat, on June 7 2024. The album cover? An obnoxious lime-green background with the word “brat” superimposed on it in a low-resolution ROM Arial font that’s just as irreverent as the album itself. Comprising 15 songs, the singer takes her audience on a rollercoaster ride of hyper-pop, God-complex moments and dance-club euphoria to the anxiety-riddled inner sanctum of a young star navigating the intricacies of life.

Perhaps it’s the sweaty, carefree, unabashed confidence the album exudes that’s captured the hearts of millennial and Gen Z audiences alike. As Charli XCX explained in a TikTok video, “You’re just, like, that girl who’s a little messy and likes to party, and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself, but maybe also has a breakdown. But she kind of like parties through it all and is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”

Fans have embraced the ethos with a grungy, Y2K-edged fervour, bringing the concept into the fashion and makeup spheres. According to global shopping platform Lyst, the search for items in lime green surged by 17% during June and July, alongside a 30% increase in searches for white tank tops. In an interview with The News Movement on June 10, the singer noted: “It can be, like, so trashy. Just, like, a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter. And, like, a strappy white top with no bra. That’s, like, kind of all you need.”

Drawing inspiration from her music videos for Von Dutch and 360, which feature fashion and social media “It” girls such as Chloë Sevigny, Julia Fox, Gabbriette Bechtel and Emma Chamberlain, the brat style includes cropped shirts, leather jackets, acid-wash jeans, smudgy eyeliner and, of course, the lime green that’s quickly becoming the colour of the season. Brands have jumped right onto the bass-blasting, sweaty summer train with makeup giant ColourPop posting a guide to “[b]e so Julia with these lime-green faves of ours” and athleisure brand Adanola hinting at a brat-themed collection.

But beyond the ripped tights and messy bed hair, “brat” is, at its core, an attitude. In an Instagram post right after the album dropped, Charli XCX summarised the album’s ethos, noting “that’s exactly what brat is all about: me, my flaws, my f--k-ups, my ego all rolled into one.”

In a world obsessed with social media smoke screens and edited, retouched perfection, the brat mindset feels like the counterculture revolution we’ve been waiting for — an unapologetic embrace of both our manic, confident moments and our anxiety-laced existential crises, all wrapped up in one messy, cigarette-perfumed nod of acceptance.

The influence of brat doesn’t stop at fashion and music. Shortly after US President Joe Biden announced he wouldn’t seek re-election, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris instead, Charli XCX took to X (formerly Twitter) with three simple words: “kamala IS brat”. Harris and her team didn’t miss a beat in embracing brat summer, as only a few days later the Harris campaign changed the background of their official X page (@kamalahq) to the same lime green with the words “kamala hq” written in ROM font.

That single tweet, which has had more than 54.5-million views, has reportedly earned the Harris campaign media exposure worth $15.9m (about R289m). David Hogg, a prominent gun-control activist, noted on X: “The amount [Charli’s] single tweet may have just done for the youth vote is not insignificant.” The internet has since been flooded with memes combining clips of Harris with various brat songs, graphics and lyrics, further cementing the brat influence in the political sphere.

With brands, politicians and the internet all embracing the brat summer attitude, it’s clear Charli XCX’s album isn’t just music — it’s a movement. And while we might still be chasing off the chill here in South Africa, this summer of sweat, self-expression and a touch of rebellion might just be the messy, glorious revolution we’ve all been waiting for.