What is Brat Summer? Charli XCX’s Feral Summer Aesthetic Explained

She’s everywhere, she’s so Julia.

Charli XCX’s “brat summer” is defined by lime green accessories, messy hair and…Kamala Harris?

The British pop star released her sixth studio album in June—and Brat has become the defining cultural phenomenon of the summer.

But what exactly does it mean to be a brat?

Charli summed up the nature of the “bratosphere” in a TikTok interview following the release of the album.

“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” the 32-year-old explained in the July 1 post, “who feels herself, but maybe also has a breakdown, but kind of like parties through it."

Charli XCX—whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison—began her music career in 2008, posting songs on MySpace before being discovered by a promoter. And in her 16 years of making music, she has dabbled with different musical styles—from playing music at illegal warehouse raves to producing Grammy-nominated pop hits.

As for her most recent album, the “360” singer decided to trust her instincts and take risks with the music she released into the world—which ended up bringing her back to her rave roots.

“I kinda miss the time where pop music was really volatile and crazy,” she said in a February interview with The Face. “I miss the Paris Hilton days. Everybody is so worried about everything right now, how they’re perceived, if this art they’ve created is going to offend.”

And despite the demands of the mainstream pop industry, Charli found success in staying true to herself and rejecting the cookie-cutter pop star image.

“I know that if I suffered in silence, pushed through it and didn’t say what was on my mind, and maybe got like a brow lift or whatever, I could probably operate in a more commercial world,” she told GQ in May. “Sometimes I tempt myself with going there, but I think the problem is my fanbase knows that that’s not who I am, so they kind of smell a rat, and they’re like, ‘This is inauthentic.’ But then I think that sometimes puts me in this position where the masses are like, ‘What the f--k is this?’”

But the pop sensation must be doing something right, because a TikTok viral dance to her song “Apple” has taken the internet by storm. Even the cast of the Twisters film—including Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos—took part in the trend.

And the idea of “brat” became an integral part of the Vice President’s presidential campaign after Charli took to X—formerly Twitter—to announce, “kamala IS brat.”

While hundreds of users created viral memes and “coconut tree” remixes using audio from a speech Harris gave in 2023 where she asked, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” while stressing the need to remember the generations that came before, the @KamalaHQ account on X embraced the trend and changed its header to feature the Brat’s iconic lime green and distinctive font.

And with even the Vice President leaning into the trend, Charli has succeeded in getting people of all types to embrace their inner brat.

“With Brat, it was really interesting to just do things for the fan base and make that feel exclusive—but then once you’re in the club, it’s actually very inclusive,” she told Billboard in a July interview. “Actually, everyone can join the club. It’s just that everybody joins at slightly different times in slightly different ways—whether that be on my private Instagram posts, or the 400-person Boiler Room, or a random cinema screening of a new music video in L.A., or a text message from me.”

As you embrace your inner brat this summer, keep reading to see how Charli has evolved through the years.

Charli XCX began her music career in 2008, posting songs on Myspace before being discovered by a promoter.

After signing a recording contract with Asylum Records in 2010, the singer-songwriter (real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison) spent her early years discovering what kind of musician she wanted to be. 

“I didn’t know who I was,” she told The Guardian in 2013. “I didn’t know what I liked. Even though I was signed, I was still figuring it out.”

The Cambridge, England, native had her first major breakthrough as a writer and collaborator on Icona Pop's "I Love It," which hit number one in the U.K. the following year.  

Charli released her debut studio album, True Romance, in April 2013. 

The following year brought yet another iconic collaboration with the release of "Fancy" with Iggy Azalea. And it wasn't long after that her track "Boom Clap" became a sensation after being featured in The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. 

She joined Taylor Swift for a punk performance of “Shake It Off” during the 1989 World Tour stop in Toronto.

Charli traded in her signature edgy style for a sporty tennis skirt in this 2016 portrait session. 

The British pop sensation stayed true to herself as her career took, releasing mixtape, Number 1 Angel in 2017.

“Number 1 Angel is probably my favorite music that I’ve released,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle that March. “It was me just doing my thing, saying what was on my mind, without pressure or intention.”

She once again joined Taylor on stage, playing over 50 stadiums as one of two openers—Camila Cabello was the other—for the Reputation Stadium Tour.

Five years after her last studio album, she released her third studio album, Charli.

"This is the most personal body of work I will have released," she told E! News in September 2019. "I cover ground I have covered before, but I also delve into my own mental health, which is a new thing for me. It just felt like the right time to discuss it."

To the Brit Awards, Charli opted for a “chic and girly” look—as she described to British Vogue—donning a black Fendi gown.

The "Apple" singer was dressed to impress in a lacy black dress for the 2021 MTV Music Awards.

The Grammy nominee posed with Paris Hilton for the 2022 Spotify Wrapped playground party in Los Angeles.

She's everywhere, she's so Julia—including at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar party, where she stunned in a gothic two-piece gown. 

The pop star attended the 2024 Met Gala, rocking a punk-inspired Marni gown that was mended together from vintage T-shirts. 

Brat summer has officially begun with Charli XCX touring with Troye Sivan for their 2024 Sweat Tour. 

The release of Charli's sixth album, Brat, kicked a viral cultural phenomenon into gear, with even Vice President Kamala Harris playing into the trend as part of her presidential campaign. After all, Charli proudly deemed the politician to be “so brat.”

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