On a summer day in June, Sofia Giovine ’26 scrolled through her phone, the screen lighting up with a video to a sound that had been flooding her For You Page. The caption read “brat summer”, the beginning of a trend that would soon take over the summer of 2024.
What does brat summer mean? A simple phrase typically stylized in all lowercase Arial font on a lime green background, brat summer has become the defining refrain of the 2024 summer. The inspiration behind this lime green craze is Charli XCX’s hit album “Brat.” Since the album’s release June 7, the word “Brat” has seemingly appeared everywhere on social media including Tiktok and Instagram
Lime green quickly became the color of the summer, comparable to last year’s inescapable Barbie pink.
The distinctiveness of the “Brat” album fueled its rapid rise in popularity. Giovine said “Brat” offers a break from much of the popular music released recently.
“’Brat’ is just different from everything else right now,” Giovine said. “It’s something fresh and exciting that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard. It’s fun, and it has a sound to it that makes you want to be yourself without worrying about what anyone else thinks. That’s why everyone’s obsessed with it.”
Charli XCX’s “Brat” catapulted the pop star to new heights, earning her first number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and her highest rank on the Billboard 200 at number three. The album sold 30,000 copies on vinyl and 46.72 million on-demand official streams of its deluxe edition’s 18 songs, according to Billboard.
The dance routine to the album’s “Apple” quickly gained traction as one of the most viral TikTok trends of the summer, resulting in nearly 1.5 million videos. Charli XCX later released “Girl, So Confusing” featuring Lorde and “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish, further boosting her popularity.
Brat Summer took heavy inspiration from the 2000s Von Dutch party aesthetic—a street style combined with luxury fashion. Charli XCX is slowly reviving its popularity, while also adding a messy, carefree vibe to the aesthetic. The energetic dance-pop album attracted the attention of many teens, and was quickly noticed as the new summer theme. Its essence is reminiscent of older looks and style that took place in the 2000s.
Anika Norton ’26 said she thinks of a specific indie 2000s aesthetic, “indie sleaze”, a mix of vintage genres of different time periods when thinking of brat summer.
“I think of going out and partying and young adults, and I associate it a lot with the indie sleaze trend from the 2010s,” Norton said. “I also think of the Cobra Snake (party photographer) who photographs lots of parties that fit the profile of brat summer. The music is really reminiscent of the scene during indie sleaze and that tech pop vibe that was so big in clubs at the time.”
People on social media quickly recognized the lime-green trademark and cool-girl style. The style is the direct opposite of last year’s “clean girl” aesthetic, which consisted of a minimalistic and effortless style. It was characterized by simple, elevated comfortable clothes, neutral colors, and a “no-makeup” makeup look. In contrast, the “brat” style is careless, grungy street style with heavy Y2K inspiration, according to Vogue. In a BBC podcast, Charli XCX said the “Brat” essentials consist of, “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter, a strappy white top with no bra.”
However, some people think the “messy cool-girl” look might be a little too messy. Madeleine Maze ’27 said the “brat” trend is exciting but not fitting to their personal interests.
“To me, ‘brat summer’ is just the ability to have a hot girl summer,” Maze said. “I think it’s just overall empowering and it’s so fun. But I’m not a huge fan of the messy look.”
On the other hand, Finn Slootweg ’26, a diehard “brat” fan, said that the new style is more inclusive and helps people express themselves more.
“ I’ve never really identified with the clean girl aesthetic because I’m not someone who cares about simplicity or looking presentable in a more traditional sense,” Slootweg said. “I think that the messy look that has become more trendy is a really good thing for so many people because it shows them that not all parts of life have to be perfectly presentable and that they’re allowed to be a weird, more authentic version of themselves.”
Slootweg said the main reason “brat” has made such an impact across social media is due to the contrast between other aesthetics.
“’Brat’ the album and Brat Summer have made such an impact in social media because the color and text of ‘brat’ are so distinct,” Slootweg said. “Anyone can use them in a multitude of different ways and most people would still understand that it’s ‘brat’. The reason why the aesthetic surrounding the album has become so popular is mainly due to the fact that it’s the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic’s fraternal twin.”
“Brat” offers a new and exciting trend, especially from the opposing “clean” aesthetics that everyone followed. Slootweg said brat summer allows people to become an unrestricted version of themselves.
“The brat summer aesthetic counters the culture that has ruled social media for about 3 years now,” Slootweg said. “People are ready for change, and ‘brat summer’ lets them experience a full 180-degree shift. Overall, glamourizing a more carefree lifestyle that isn’t so trend or social media-oriented is a good thing. It allows for more people to explore and experience individuality in a ways that may have felt restricted before.”
While there are many strong fans and haters of the new aesthetic, some people stayed neutral on the topic. Ava Hanasab ’26 said she enjoys the antics that come along with brat summer.
“It’s another big thing that the internet blew up,” Hanasab said. “But honestly, I like to see other people enjoying themselves when they find a niche that they really fit into. I find the dances and ‘Brat’ references so fun, even if it’s a silly trend because why not make a big deal out of something fun? It brings everyone together and that’s all a part of pop culure.”
Holding a similar sentiment towards “Brat”, Ibrahim Wone ’25 said it gained popularity by chance but appealed to people because of its uniqueness.
“Brat summer to me is just a social media aesthetic trend that has gained traction recently,” Wone said. “I guess the impact that it brought was probably just based on random chance because that’s kind of what social media is. What makes people like it is the fact that it goes outside of what most people would expect in terms of an aesthetic.”
However, while popular right now, some believe “Brat” is a trend that will come and go just as others. Zarah Colmenares ’26 said “Brat” will go away once we put our attention on other things.
“In the beginning of when brat summer was gaining its popularity, it was cool and funny to see how others were making trends by making dances or the bright green background color with black text,” Colmenares said. “Now I don’t agree with it because to me, it’s getting repetitive and others are making this aesthetic a major thing when we know that will fade away, as most trends do. During summer, we all went to parties dressed in the “Brat” aesthetic, but I personally don’t think it will be as relevant once teenagers start going to school.”
The carefree attitude and bold aesthetic have become a defining signature of the “Brat” movement, putting an emphasis on accepting imperfections and chaotic antics. On an Instagram post, Charli XCX characterizes the “Brat” album spirit as “me, my flaws, my **** ups, my ego all rolled into one.” To her, “Brat” describes the feeling of embracing ups and downs, including breakdowns, while still remaining candid.
Charli XCX’s “Brat” era connected people with the “Brat” identity, leading to a shared sense of ownership and personal connection to the concept. Maya Ray ’25 believes the fan interaction is one reason the new aesthetic became so beloved.
“I feel that the most memorable part of ‘Brat’ is the amount of fan engagement Charli XCX was able to get,” Ray said. “Charli incorporated her extremely supportive fan base in her marketing. Through social media, she was able to have people truly be a part of ‘Brat’. That led many people to start using ‘Brat’ as an adjective to describe themselves.”
In agreement with Charli’s sentiment on Instagram, Ray said “Brat” authentically captures a mindset that people can embody, making them feel personally connected to the movement.
“She was able to form a real connection in her audience’s minds because now they will always remember what ‘Brat’ meant to them: how they had a brat summer, how they streamed the music, and how they participated in the trends,” Ray said. “’Brat’ is about everyone, and is everyone, and I feel that is the amazing and most memorable part.”
