Lime green is all the rage right now, and it’s all thanks to Charli XCX’s hit album ‘Brat’.
Since the studio album’s release on June 7, the “brat” aesthetic (including its distinctive Arial font) has been seen everywhere, from slime-green merchandise to marketing campaigns.
The high-energy dance-pop album touched on themes of partying, Dutch and femininity, inspiring memes, TikTok dances and fashion trends, with online fans coining a new term: “Brat Summer.”
With its messy and carefree vibe, Brat Summer borrows elements from other similar TikTok trends, including Wild Girl Summer and Rat Girl Summer.
“Brat” has evolved from an iconic album cover to an entire aesthetic that’s now become a lifestyle embraced by both Gen Z and millennials.
What is Brat Summer?
The brat summer trend is inspired by British singer Charli XCX’s hit album “Brat,” which was released on June 7th and debuted at number three on the Billboard charts.
Fans were particularly taken with the album’s distinctive, yet minimalist, cover art, which features the word “brat” written in low-resolution Arial font against a lime green background.
Soon after the album was released, Gen Z dubbed it the “season of sassy youth,” an aesthetic trend defined by party-loving behavior, cool-girl style, and all things lime green.
The trend quickly took TikTok by storm, with 41,200 posts under the hashtag “#bratsummer.”
While the word “brat” typically conjures up images of middle school angst, brat summer is all about embracing your imperfections while also welcoming chaos.
In a June 8 Instagram post, Charli XCX described the spirit of the “Brat” album as “myself, my flaws, my failures, and my ego all rolled into one.”
She further explained what she meant by “brat” in a TikTok video.
“You’re a girl who’s a little bit messy, who likes to party, who says stupid things sometimes. You feel like you’re your own person, but you can get emotionally drained. But you get over that and you party, and you’re very honest, very forthright. You’re a little bit quirky. You do stupid things. But that’s sassy. You’re sassy. That’s sassy,” she said in the video.
Beyond outfit checks and viral dance moves, this summer trend has recently been linked to more than just TikTok fame: an unlikely person: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Shortly after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, Charlie XCX praised and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in a post on twitter.
The post, which now has nearly 48 million views, went viral on social media, prompting numerous posts pairing the video of VP Harris with the “Brat” song.
Many of these videos also incorporate the “coconut tree” meme, inspired by a quote from one of Harris’ past speeches.
Harris’ campaign team also welcomed the brat meme.
X’s Kamala HQ campaign account changed its banner to mimic the cover art of his “brat” album, reading “kamala hq” in low-resolution text against a lime green background.
On Instagram, the Kamala HQ account posted posts inspired by the brat aesthetic, and the slideshow included screenshots of Charli XCX’s original X posts.
“And once we get this sorted, the internet will go crazy,” the post’s caption reads.
The fast-growing debate over “brats” has migrated from social media into mainstream political debate.
Rachel Maddow mentioned the brat meme during an interview with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on MSNBC on July 22.
“Last night Charlie XCX tweeted, ‘Kamala is a brat,'” Maddow said. “I honestly don’t know what that means.”
