It’s impossible to deny that the fashion market moves through trends. Every year, culture reinvents itself and, in an almost planned way, defines which clothes, make-up and lifestyles will be in the spotlight. It’s a cycle promoted by the very periodicity of human living.
In 2024, Collins English Dictionary chose “brat” as the word of the year, the title of the most recent – and most viral – album by the singer Charli XCX. The project became a hit and won over thousands of fans around the world, embracing a more messy and daring aesthetic in the fashion world.
However, the brat wave came at an atypical time, when the famous Clean Girl aesthetic prevailed: a minimalist trend that gained strength in mid-2022 and, since then, has continued to grow in the market and on social media.
Although the Clean Girl style dominated feminine culture for a long time, Charli managed to conquer great space through a completely different album and aesthetic. But how and why did this happen?
Unveiling Clean Girl
Born at the beginning of the 2020s, the Clean Girl style was – and still is – one of the biggest sensations in the world of womenswear, and it was no coincidence that it exploded during the pandemic. Its main proposal is minimalism and naturalness: straightened buns, pilates leggings and the famous “no-makeup” makeup are just some of its trademarks.
Excessive skincare was a major factor in the advancement of this aesthetic, since having perfect skin and hair is on the list of requirements for a genuine Clean Girl. These aspects have contributed to the emergence of a strict and healthy lifestyle, which comes with the complete package of this movement.
Many artists and influencers have been essential in highlighting this trend. When we talk about the Clean Era, we can’t help but mention the names of Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Selena Gomez, who have even promoted the aesthetic with beauty lines such as Rare Beauty and Rhode.
the return of the Messy Girl as a way of competing with the Clean Era
Over time, many experts began to question the Clean Girl trend, since in order to “look clean” it wasn’t just clothes and make-up that were needed, but an incessant and tiring beauty routine hidden by a supposedly natural appearance.
This perfection defended by the aesthetic began to generate a lot of negative reactions. The return of the usual post-pandemic routines was reducing the time girls could spend in front of the mirror. Parties were making a comeback and new it-girls were emerging. The time had come for the Clean Era to slow down and make room for a less perfectionist style.
So, at the beginning of 2024, between February and March, an aesthetic reappeared to balance out clean minimalism and please a larger part of the public: the Messy Girl. With its roots in the Grunge movement of the 1990s and 2000s, the trend is characterized by a messy, daring and even “tired” look.
Here, black colors dominate most of the look. The make-up is more intense, with lots of eyeliner, eyeshadow and eye pencils. Pants are baggy and unfussy, and voluminous hair replaces the high, straight bun. It’s a pure counterpoint to the Clean Girl aesthetic.
It’s a style that values a certain unfiltered individuality, true naturalness. Girls don’t have to be afraid to be who they are – instead, they can value comfort and authenticity. That’s why rock music and parties are also part of the style.
Also, as with all the other trends, many celebrities were used as references, such as Alex Consani, Amelia Gray and Gabriette: women who aren’t worried about being themselves on social media and strictly follow the lifestyle supported by the aesthetic.
However, despite the messy style hitted the internet hard, it wasn’t enough to overturn the four years in which the Clean Girl aesthetic dominated. We needed more than just a few references, we needed a new wave, a movement, a challenge. That’s when, in June of the same year, Charli XCX released BRAT, an album that would embrace messy girls with all its might.
Brat Summer: Charli XCX’s Renaissance and mastery of her aesthetic
Charli, from her very first productions, had been a success with teenage audiences. “Boom Clap” and “I Love It” are just two of her big hits. However, with BRAT, she not only pleased the target audience, but turned her album into a cultural phenomenon since it’s launch a year ago.
BRAT, in all its composition, follows an experimental and innovative concept, combining pop music with electronics and returning to the techno aesthetic. The singer uses themes such as parties, fame and chaotic relationships, with features from other big names in track remixes such as Ariana Grande, Lorde and Troye Sivan.
The word brat itself takes on a deeper meaning with the success of the album, being a symbol of self-affirmation and boldness that carries, above all, a provocative energy. It’s a way of embracing your intense, rebellious side and making it powerful, just like the Messy Girl aesthetic stands for.
The album took on huge proportions, attracting the attention of major brands and social media – it was even the object of political campaigns in the United States. It was impossible not to notice – the great opportunity for the messy aesthetic to gain influence in fashion was sealed: everyone wanted to be like Charli, everyone wanted to be brat.
Charli XCX was reborn not only as a singer, but also as a fashion icon. Her voluminous hair, her short black clothes, her way of walking and her giant heeled boots became a trademark. Neon green – now “brat green” – was everywhere.
This viralization was one of the biggest factors in the growing opposition to the Clean Girl style. Charli re-inaugurated, with a flourish, a completely opposite trend through music, originality and the boldness of brat.
The balance of trends
This is precisely the magic involved in the cycle of trends: human culture will always crave innovation and renewal, favoring the emergence of a new sensation to star in the “Era of the Moment”, creating an imaginary scale that we ourselves balance.
Moreover, with the growth of the internet and cyberculture, it has become increasingly easy to make new styles stand out. The speed promoted by the internet, as well as its wide availability of content, allows very different movements to grow almost alongside each other. More often than not, this leads to cultural and aesthetic clashes.
However, some clean girls will continue to wear their bright clothes and flaunt their delicateness, as well as messy girls will continue to wear their marked eyeliner and listen to “365” on their headphones. Who knows what fashion has to show us next year?
Perhaps a new phenomenon will reverse the roles or a recycling will highlight aesthetics already seen. In any case, that’s the interesting thing about fashion: the possibility of discovering new styles and reinventing yourself.
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The article above was edited by Luna Bahdur.
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