Beginning after the release of Charli XCX’s sixth studio album brat on June 7, the era of Brat Summer will surely go down as one of the many highlights of the singer’s career. Characterized by bright greens (dubbed brat green), a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra, the trend gave TikTokers both a new aesthetic and a new mindset to emulate. In an Instagram post on June 7, Charli described the album as “me, my flaws, my f— ups, my ego all rolled into one.”
Emulating the indie sleaze era of the 2000s and early 2010s, Brat Summer was a far cry from the clean girl era of 2022 and the bubblegum pink Barbie takeover of 2023.
The allure of the trend’s messy, carefree party-girl vibe was an immediate draw, with social media users, brands, retailers and politicians alike hopping on board. From the viral “apple” dance routine by TikToker Kelley Heyer to “kamala IS brat”, an endorsement by Charli XCX herself of Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency, green was the color of the summer.
But as fun as it was, Brat Summer couldn’t last forever. On September 2, Charli XCX announced the official end of Brat Summer in a tweet.
While Brat Summer was on its way out, a new trend was emerging. If you’ve been on social media in the last month, you’ve come across the words “demure” and “mindful.” On August 2, TikToker Jools Lebron posted a video titled “How to be demure at work.”
“You see how I come to work?” asked the creator in the viral TikTok, which has now been viewed 51.8M times. “Very demure. I do my makeup, I lay my wig,” Lebron continued. The satirical TikToks on how to be modest and mindful served as a shift from Brat Summer giving way to Demure Fall. Demureness emphasizes a lowkey, reserved lifestyle and “not doing too much.” Several brands including Verizon, Lyft, Netflix and Zillow have collaborated with Lebron, and celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Lindsay Lohan participated in the trend on social media.
It is not uncommon for brands and public figures to leverage viral internet moments to appear more authentic and in tune with the culture. However, it’s easy for brands to misunderstand a trend or miss the mark in their attempt to profit from it. The internet is known for its fleeting trend cycles and there’s notably more pressure to hop on trends as quickly as possible. Can brands keep up while being authentic?
After the success of Lebron’s TikTok, there’s been some conversation surrounding whether or not she’s received proper credit for the usage of her likeness and voice. The issue of viral moments created by people of color and LGBTQ+ people being co-opted by large brands is long-standing. For example, Jalaiah Harmon, a Black creator, made the “Renegade” dance in 2019. The dance was quickly picked up by bigger creators like Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio who went on to receive brand deals.
As more and more marketing tactics rely on content creators and internet trends, brands must become privy to the longevity of internet trends and their origins while also acknowledging the influence content creators have in creating these trends. The organic marketing of Brat Summer and the latest Demure Fall is a clear sign that marketing is being redefined by internet microtrends.
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