The weather might suggest otherwise, but summer is finally upon us – and the mood for the season ahead has officially been set. Threadbare tank tops, black-out sunglasses, Bic lighters and badass attitudes at the ready, because we're about to be launched head-first into the mess, mayhem and magic of a 'Brat Girl Summer'.
Following a long period dominated by the 'clean girl', #TradWife and 'quiet luxury' trends, the vibe has now shifted in the polar opposite direction. Unrealistic standards and unattainable aesthetic signifiers, be gone. This year's Brat Girls are all about being unapologetically themselves, in all their rattiness and complexity – and having a whole lot of fun while they're at it.
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Their inspiration? Singer-songwriter, queen of weird and OG internet girlie, Charli XCX, whose sixth studio album has set the tone for the season ahead. Quite simply named Brat, the acid-green album artwork has dominated TikTok FYPs and Instagram feeds ever since its release earlier this month and spawned countless memes, while its songs are just about all anyone can listen to right now.
Through her ingenious lyrics, clever album promo (think a suitably hectic and insanely oversubscribed Boiler Room set featuring the ultimate OG Brat girls Julia Fox and Gabbriette), and own personal style (unfiltered, undone, grungy and ironic but still seriously hot), Charli has single-handedly given a whole new meaning to the term 'brat' – and it's far from the spoilt, arrogant and badly-behaved Veruca Salt versions of yore.
Miaou Arielle Top
Ashley Williams White 'I Heart Me' Tank Top
RIMOWA Cabin Bag
Acne Studios Frame Oversized Sunglasses
It's about having attitude, but not an attitude problem; it's about letting your freak flag fly, without ever feeling the need to apologise for it; it's about throwing on the last clean(ish) item from your floor-drobe and going to the club, then shamelessly emerging the next day in the same outfit with last night's matted hair and smudged eyeliner. As Charli sings in her hit song 360, it's '666 with a princess streak'. It's the clean girl's antithesis, and worst nightmare.
Style-wise, pretty much anything goes – though obviously, you can't look like you've tried too hard. Ideally, in fact, you shouldn't look like you've tried at all. Think a messy mish-mash of ripped tights, short-shorts, battered leather, hole-ridden hoodies, heeled boots (to be thrown off for barefoot dancing ASAP) and ironic tees, with subtly bougie cameos from the likes of Vaquera, Ashley Williams, EYTYS, Y-Project, Balenciaga, Diesel and Praying – all bought from SSENSE, of course. And don't forget to dig out any old Y2K Von Dutch hats.
The Brat Girl is fundamentally complex and contradictory (at last, a trend that's realistic!), and the core 'you do you' attitude makes it, in many ways, the ultimate anti-aesthetic. 'TikTok’s interpretation of "girlhood" has gone through many iterations, but its Brat era is by far the most accessible,' explains Katie Withington, ELLE UK Beauty Writer and resident Charli XCX stan. 'Rather than leaning into the internet’s fascination with embracing femininity in a superficial way, Charli's latest venture is putting an unapologetic spin on what it means to be a self-proclaimed hot girl.
'The best part is that it's not something that you need to buy into. It’s not centred around soft luxury and signifying wealth – its key ingredients are empowered female friendships, audacious fun and a healthy side order of grot. That's what makes it feels so spontaneous and infectious; it’s an open invitation for anyone of any gender or class to be unfiltered, carefree and a just a little bit messy.'
Indeed, when asked about what her Brat Girl Summer starter pack would be, Charli responded as iconically as ever: 'It can go quite luxury,' she told the BBC, referring to a TikTok of her on a yacht (with 'reluctant BF who is quite frankly over it'), '...But it can also be so trashy, just like a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra. That's kind of all you need.'
With Charli's album already the soundtrack of the season, a UK summer that's set to be wetter, muddier and greyer than ever, and a particularly epic line-up of festivals on the horizon, it would seem that at this point, the Brat Girl vibe will be not so much an aesthetic choice, as an inevitability – and we're ready to jump right in.
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Clementina Jackson is Acting Site Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, working across news and features, trends, e-commerce and SEO. She was previously Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health, and Acting Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, where she was named as a PPA 30 Under 30 award winner for her work on size inclusivity. An experienced fashion, travel and luxury lifestyle journalist, Clementina has also written for Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, Red and Italy Segreta.
