Fashion Lingo: what does «brat girl summer» mean?

Get your pen and paper out, it’s that time of year again. Social media has found a new aesthetic that needs to be captured and shared with hashtags: the «brat girl aesthetic». We know what brat means. Brats don’t want anything to do with their well-behaved and tidy predecessors such as the «vanilla girls» or «clean girls». No, this summer should be wild, chaotic and authentic. At least that’s what pop star Charli XCX, who we have to thank for the phenomenon, demands.

Brat by Charli XCX embodies the sound and image

At the start of June, the 31 year old released her sixth album Brat. The slime green cover is already considered the official colour of the movement under the synonym «brat green».

What else do you need to look like a brat? «A pack of cigarettes with a cheap lighter and a tank top with no bra underneath is enough actually,» Charlie XCX explains. She also gives her blessing to chipped nail varnish, tooth gems and permanently knotted cable headphones.

Contrary to what you might think at first, the singer and her brats don’t want to celebrate an unkempt, dissolute lifestyle, but rather body confidence and carefreeness. It’s an attitude to life that seems to be catching on – according to analysis conducted by Launchmetrics (industry data monitoring company), «brat» has generated an incredible 22.5 million US dollars in Media Impact value (MIV). At the same time, the international fashion search engine Lyst registered a 17 per cent increase in the search term «slime green».

So is that the end of beige and vanilla, with tidiness and orchestrated perfection? What do you think of brat girl summer? Let me know in the comments.

In the «Fashion Lingo» series, I try to shed light on the dark that is language in the fashion industry. If you occasionally end up lost in translation, I’m sure I can help – drop me a line in the comments.